A Beginning
by Caius Kreiss
Summary: Caius has had his life ripped apart once. Now he's looking for a way to fix it. Revenge.
1. First Impressions

**Hey there! This is my first fanfic so it might not be any good but I'll do my best. It would be great if you gave me advise on how I could improve my writing.  
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**I wrote this story cause I felt like nobody in Final Fantasy XIII really connected with Lightning. I was never a fan of HopeXLightning or SnowXLightning. I felt like they just didn't match. I always thought that a person who could equal Lightning would have matched Lightning far better. Lo, behold, they introduce Caius in Final Fantasy XIII-2. However LightningXCaius won't come until later in the story though so please, stick with me.  
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**I plan on having this story go on for a while. I've got a big plot written out already but my updates may be pretty eradicate so please bear with me. Then again it all depends on motivation.  
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**I was also wondering if you guys preferred long chapters with longer update times or shorter chapters more frequently. **

**Anyways, R&R and enjoy!.. I hope.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Duh...  
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><p><strong>First Impressions<strong>

_I lock eyes with the person in front of me as the flames of broken machinery billows around him. As his dark emotionless eyes gaze into mine countless emotions rage within me, love, joy… hatred, anger. _

_How can I fight him? Do I have the courage and the willpower to commit to this battle? How can you fight when you're afraid of hurting the one you are fighting? _

_As I watch him raise his blade fear wells up inside me, fear of what I might have to do._

_Hesitantly, I bring my blade up as well. Breathing slowly I reach into myself to remember what I am fighting for. I glance quickly at the pink haired soldier standing beside me. She is the reason why I am here. She is the one I will fight for._

_Steeling myself I direct my complete focus on the man, no boy, in front of me. As he lunges forward to begin our battle one thought flies through my head as the familiar rush of battle threatens to overtake me._

"_Forgive me…brother."_

* * *

><p><span>One and a Half Years Ago<span>

As the golden sun of Cocoon slowly rose to greet the new day, its rays of light shone upon a lone, sleek, black velocycle speeding along the road toward the majestic city of Bodhum, its roaring engine shattering the silence of the morning. Rays of light reflected off the glistening black paint and bathed the rider whose figure molded into that of his velocycle. The young rider was dressed in full black leather cycling gear, covering his whole body, and had a black belt secured around his waist. On the left side there was a small leather pouch attached to the belt and the other side there was a sheath that held a strange mechanical object that looked like a sword without a blade. The handle also had two large gaps along both sides of the object.

The rider looked up and started to slow down as he approached the massive gateway that led to the grand city of Bodhum. Even the lone rider could see the massive towers and the glistening of light as the sun's rays reflected off countless windows. The buildings gradually got smaller and more humble as the rider's gaze wandered from the main city towards the crystal sea sparkling under the sun's rays. The coast side of Bodhum was a beautiful sight as the water lapped the pure white sand of the beaches. The beach was surrounded by small houses that looked simple yet exquisite. The city and the seaside looked so vibrant, so alive that it was hard to pull your eyes away from but pull his eyes away the rider did as he directed his focus to the guards standing alert next to the gate that led to the awe inspiring city.

"State your name and your business, routine security check" ordered the guardsman as the black velocycle came to a screeching halt a meter away from him.

"Corporal Caius Kreiss, Guardian Corp. I've been transferred to the Bodhum Security Regiment," replied a confident voice that certainly didn't fit a low ranking corporal.

"We're going to need to run a check on you, I hope that isn't a problem," the guard asked as he gave a nod to his partner who started prepping a machine fitted into the metallic city wall, a machine that Caius recognized as a scanner.

"Could you please remove your helmet and proceed to the scanner" directed the guard as he pointed at the scanner with his standard military issue rifle. The use of the rifle didn't go unnoticed by Caius as he recognized it as a subtle message. 'Mess with us and you'll find a number of these bad boys pointed in your direction'.

"No problem" replied Caius as he dismounted and moved towards the scanner. He then proceeded to remove his helmet, revealing a young nineteen year-old face with striking chocolate brown eyes framed with long dark purple hair that went past his shoulders. This strangely coloured hair was held back by headband.

A blue light emerged from the scanner and appeared as a thin blue line on Caius's face. It then proceeded to move up and down so it covered his face entirely. The blue line started at the bottom of his well-defined jaw and proceeded upwards past his pale lips and nose to the tip of his head. There was no denying that Caius was a good looking guy. The scanner then gave a beep and a mechanical voice came from the machine.

"Subject confirmed, Corporal Caius Kreiss, Guardian Corp, Status: Undergoing transfer." The voice ended with another beep.

A smirk appeared on Caius's face "Happy now?"

The guard with the scanner gave a nod to his partner. As Caius began to make his way back to his vehicle the guard thrust an arm in his path, barring the way. "Before we can allow you into the city it is part of protocol that you register your weapon here so we have info regarding your weapon if an incident occurs."

The guard pressed a button on the scanner and long tray came out of the machine. The guard turned back to Caius and tapped the tray with an impatient look on his face.

"You know, what make you think I have a weapon in the first place?" asked Caius as he ran his fingers through his unusually colored hair.

"We're soldiers we don't go anywhere without our weapons," the guard tapped the tray again, "Anytime today would be nice."

"Alright, alright, I'll get the big bad weapon out." Caius then went to grab the strange looking object in his belt. He removed it from its sheath and presented it to the guard.

"That's it? That's the big bad weapon you've got?" The guard chuckled at the harmless looking handle that Caius presented to him.

Caius rolled his eyes and with a smooth flick of his wrist, the object extended into a massive black sword marked with silver grooves along the blade. The large blade however looked like it was made out of two swords with the edges of the blade curving in some places. The two sides of the blade however were only joined at the base and tip, the middle of the blade being empty air. Well, empty besides the two tick shaped blade that extended from the tip of the blade inwards and met crisscross at the center of the blade.

Caius then slipped each hand into the gaps in the handle and split the sword down the middle turning it into two smaller identical swords, each one brandishing the smaller ticked shaped blade on the blunter side of the sword.

With another flick of his wrists the part near the handle of the blades opened up and a majority of the sword folded into it. The tip of each blade drew back until it hit the bulk of what was now essential a gun. The tips of each of the protruding tick shaped blades became the sight for the two silver tinted black guns. He then joined them back together to make his enormous sword again and finally retracted his weapon back into its harmless form with another smooth flick of his wrist.

"Yea, that's just about it." Caius said with a wide grin on his face.

"Yea, then in it goes" muttered the guard as he tapped the tray yet again, still trying to figure out how something that impressive came out of the harmless looking object that Caius dropped into the tray. The guard pressed another button and the tray closed with a hiss.

The same mechanical voice came out of the machine "Scanning… Please stand by."

Caius could see a faint blue light coming from the machine. After a few moments the machine crackled back to life.

"Scanning complete, weapon identified. Name: Nightfire Sabre, Type: Prototype Gunblade, Status: Testing." With another hiss the tray came out and Caius reached in and grabbed his gunblade.

"If everything is in order, I wouldn't mind entering the city now. Or are they more security checks?" questioned Caius. The guard shook his head sharply and pressed yet another button and the giant gates of Bodhum started to swing open. With a nod to the guards Caius donned his helmet, mounted his black velocycle and with a roar of his engine, sped off into the city.

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><p>As Caius weaved through cars along the road he whispered "GPS, Bodhum Guardian Corp Base".<p>

On the side of his visor a small screen popped up showing Caius's location and the map of the city. It also provided the shortest route to Caius's destination, Bodhum's Guardian Corp Base.

Caius took a quick left turn and started speeding up. He barely noticed the modern buildings and the roads above him as he skilfully weaved through the cars in front of him. After a few more minutes of skilful dodging Caius arrived at the base of the tall building that he knew was the Guardian Corp Base, which was clearly apparent as the massive Guardian Corp symbol on the front of the building was a dead giveaway.

Looking around Caius quickly spotted the entrance into the building's parking lot. Wasting no time he quickly went down the ramp and proceeded into the parking lot. The parking lot was jammed packed with lights and had no shortage of parking spots but it was pretty much desolate. Looking around he saw that there weren't many vehicles around.

_Most of them are probably on patrol duty. _Caius thought was he observed the vehicles around him. The various vehicles he saw were mainly standard issue military vehicles, only one vehicle piqued his interest, a sleek red velocycle. Caius mentally whistled at its style. He then turned back to the task of looking for a place to park, not that it was a problem as there was no shortage of space.

After parking his velocycle Caius dismounted and removed his helmet. Dumping his helmet into his velocycle's storage compartment at the back of the bike he moved to the elevator while fixing his helmet mussed hair, smoothing out the spiky bits that stuck out from his head.

Caius didn't see a point in taking proper security measures as he was sure that the abundance of cameras, both visible and hidden, was enough to prevent any crime. Not that there would be an idiot dumb enough to steal from the heart of Bodhum's security itself, but then again he could be wrong. There were always idiots like that in the world.

Caius pressed the button to summon the elevator and soon enough the enormous doors slowly opened revealing a massive elevator. These giant elevators allowed for the quick movement of troops in emergencies and there were far more than one elevator in the building. Caius entered the spacious elevator and pressed the button for the top floor as he watched the door close with a "Bang."

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><p><span>One Day Ago<span>

As the elevator door opened with a soft chime a slender figure emerged from the compartment. Looking out the window the obviously female figure could see that they were clearly on the top floor as they towered over the seaside. Then again Bodhum's Guardian Corp Base was one of the higher buildings in Bodhum.

Turning towards the receptionist desk, rays of light fell upon the woman's face. It revealed piecing aqua blue eyes that looked like it could see into your very soul itself. Her intriguing eyes were complemented by a perfect nose and full shapely lips. Her pearly white skin was obviously flawless and so was her heart-shaped face. This obvious beauty was framed by her most outstanding feature, unusual pale pink hair that swept over her left shoulder. She was wearing a standard women's Guardian Corp jacket complete with knee high boots, miniskirt and a turtleneck sweater. A light red pouch was strapped around her one of her shapely legs. As she walked towards the desk a brown sheath, holding a standard military gunblade, bounced behind her with every step. This beauty radiated confidence and intelligence however she also gave out an eerie feeling of coldness, it was like she had a wall between her and the rest of the world.

As she approached the desk the receptionist looked up from her computer to regard the soldier that was rapidly approaching her. The receptionist got up and leaned on the counter, giving a good view of her cleavage due to her dress with a plunging neckline.

"Ah, and what do I owe the honor of having the majestic Lightning Farron grace my humble desk" said the receptionist through a mocking smile.

_You owe me for not punching that stupid smile off your face. _Lightning fumed as she tried to keep her irritation from showing, she wasn't very successful though. She was already annoyed at what she was here for to put up with the receptionist.

"I'm here to see Commander Amber, he sent for me," replied Lighting in a confident tone that made it clear she was one of the 'no-nonsense' types as she regarded the posture and neckline of the receptionist with obvious distaste.

"Yes, I believe he has been expecting you for some time now, you've kept him waiting. What's so daunting about this meeting that you've been trying to avoid it?" asked the receptionist as she sat back down.

"None of your business, can I go in now?" growled Lighting as she readjusted the long black sleeve on her left arm, her shoulder pauldron jostling as she pulled her sleeve up. Yellow stripes adorned the pauldron, symbolizing her rank as a Corporal. Underneath it however was another engraving completely, this engraving took the shape of scythe.

Leaning forward Lightning stared into the eyes of the receptionist and repeated. "Can I go in now?"

The receptionist just smiled and pressed a button on her table. The door leading to the Commander's office snapped open.

Wasting no time Lighting headed towards the open door, not being the type to shy away from anything.

_Every time, every single time, that receptionist never fails to get on my nerves. _Lightning let out a sigh of annoyance_. I swear one day I'm going to make her pay._

Once she stepped through the door she entered a large room. It was set up simply, various bookcases placed in an orderly manner along the walls, all except one wall which was opposite the door. You couldn't really regard it as a wall as it was really a massive window giving a magnificent view of the city. A large circular rug graced the polished marble floors, set on top of the rug were three identical chairs facing a slightly fancy desk adorned with a plaque stating "Commander Luke Amber" . Behind this desk sat a slightly more grandiose chair.

In this chair sat a male of obvious significance. The room reflected the importance of this person but also showed that he preferred the simplicities of life rather than all the pomp and fancy. One of the reasons why Lightning respected this said person.

The Commander was a middle-aged man with strong features bearing a neatly trimmed beard that occupied the lower part of his face. His chocolate brown eyes gazed into Lightning's blue ones unwaveringly as he dumped a file onto his desk.

"Take a seat Farron" ordered the Commander in his gruff voice and Lightning obeyed without a second thought.

"Lightning Farron, 19 years old, smart, strong, confident and reliable, recommendations by almost every training instructor," He glanced at the files "Quote, Shows great potential, sure to rise through the ranks quickly. So tell me, why are you still a Corporal?" growled the Commander.

"I don't know sir" claimed Lightning as she stared directly at the Commander, unwavering under his verbal onslaught.

"It's because you just won't work as a team! Hell, you won't even take a partner. Pulling all that lone wolf crap! I've had enough, I've given you time to sort yourself out but you just refuse to co-operate. I've had great hopes for you and I'm not giving up now. I've given you time to pick a partner but that didn't work out so I've got a transfer coming in tomorrow and he needs a partner. Guess what, you fit the bill and you're free so congratulations, you've found yourself a partner. Once you've partnered up I can finally tick that little check-box 'Works well with others.' And I might even be able to promote you."

Lightning opened her mouth and a complaint was just about the escape when the Commander beat her to the punch.

"Shut it soldier, you're going through with this and there's nothing you can do about it. Oh, and this time you're not going to abandon him like your other partners. For better or for worse you're stuck with him. Get ready for your partner's arrival tomorrow. Dismissed" Lightning shut her mouth quickly and stood up and quickly proceeded to leave the room.

_That was a pretty one sided conversation. Could have gone worse… actually, no, that was about as bad as it could get._ Lightning thought as she walked out of the room with a frown.

As Lightning walked past the reception desk the receptionist smiled. She had clearly heard the Commander from here and had obviously enjoyed the show. She just couldn't resist one last jibe, "Have fun in there?" she asked with a smug smirk.

Lightning's frown deepened as she ignored the receptionist and headed towards the elevators.

_I'm really starting to hate her. _Were her last thoughts before the elevator doors closed in front of her.

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><p><span>Present Day<span>

Looking out the clear glass walls of the elevator Caius watched as the buildings and signs of life gradually grew smaller and smaller the further up the elevator went.

_Feels like you could play God. _Caius thought before he was interrupted by the sounds of an opening elevator.

Exiting the elevator Caius spotted the desk near the office door and the receptionist. Evidently, the receptionist noticed Caius too and his entrance had attracted her attention, a great deal of attention. As Caius quickly approached the desk the receptionist put on her best seductive smile and purposefully leaned on the counter of the desk.

"Hey there handsome, what can I do for you?" inquired the receptionist as Caius reached her desk, her smile still on her face and her posture giving a great view of her womanly assets.

The posture and smile didn't go unnoticed but was ignored as Caius asked directly "I've been transferred to the Bodhum Security Regiment, Commander Amber is expecting me."

Her smile dipping slightly at Caius's disregard of her womanly charms, the receptionist replied "Unfortunately Commander Amber had to attend an urgent meeting and he isn't available right now. However, I would be delighted to keep you company until he returns." The smile was back at full force.

_She just doesn't know when to quit does she._ Caius mentally laughed at her obvious attempts to 'pick him up'. She was a few years older than him and attractive enough but Caius had other things to do before he could go acting like a hormone-driven teenager.

"I'm sure we could find something to do until he returns" offered the reception through that smile.

Completely ignoring her Caius asked "I would like to know the whereabouts of my temporary quarters and the basic layout of this building"

Obviously disappointed by his rejection of her offer she replied "Floors five, six and seven hold the soldier's quarters and temporary accommodations." Glancing at her computer she continued "Your temporary quarters are on floor five, room 60. The mess hall is located on floor eight and the training room on floor three. Floor two contains the armory and floor one contains the medical clinic and hospital bay. There's a passage way from the ground floor to the airstrip and hanger and that's about it."

"Thanks, I'm probably going to check out my quarters and get something to eat to pass the time. Please inform Commander Amber that I have arrived when he returns" asked Caius as he turned to leave.

"You sure you're not going to take up my offer? It gets pretty lonely in here" the receptionist cried out at Caius's retreating back as he walked to towards the elevator.

"No thanks, I'm good" Caius smiled as he waved a hand behind him. "See ya." he said before he pressed the button for floor five. Once again the elevator door slid shut in front of him with a solid thud.

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><p>Caius walked out of the elevator onto floor five, which was eerily void of life at the moment. Looking around Caius a small sign stuck to the pale walls which read 'Rooms 40-60'.<p>

_Guess that's me. _

Caius walked towards the beginning of the corridor only to stop as he observed the long corridor, small mechanical doors dotted the metallic walls along each side of the corridor.

_The rooms better be worth the walk. _Caius brooded as he started that long trek down the corridor. Looking at the first door Caius realized that he was evidently nowhere near his room as plaque on the first door clearly stated 40. This meant that his room was at the very end of the corridor. Caius directed his attention forward and sighed as he began to move towards the end of the corridor.

As he traversed the distance between him and his room Caius was aware of his footsteps echoing through the long passageway, breaking the silence at steady intervals. Looking around Caius was puzzled by the lack of life. Looking forward again he noticed two things. One, that his room was just in front of him and two, there was an elevator at the very end of the corridor.

_That receptionist just had to keep that elevator a little secret didn't she? Probably cracking up over on the top floor right now_, _probably did this just cause I declined her._

Caius slammed his palms on the small button next to the door marked 60. It opened up to reveal a simple room which looked much more comfortable than you would expect for a military base.

The room had all the basic equipment you needed, a fridge, a closet, a small table, a door that probably led to the bathroom and of course a simple bed smack bang in the middle of the far wall. First things first, Caius went to check the fridge which was unfortunately empty.

_I wouldn't mind a decent meal right now._

Caius then went to the closet to find a change of clothes. His leather riding gear was getting uncomfortable. But alas, yet again Caius was greeted with merry emptiness. Sighing Caius made his way to the next best thing.

After traveling for most of the night Caius was eager to test out the bed. Lying down on the bed he let out a content sigh. The bed was simplistic but it sure beat the hell out of those itchy and hard bed bunks of Palumpolum. For a city as rich as Palumpolum they were sure stingy with their military accommodations.

_Still, I think it'll be better to find my own house around here. Those beach side houses are just too tempting to pass up._

And with that thought Caius closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>"Uh, Corporal Farron!" Lightning turned around to see a nervous soldier approaching her.<p>

"What do you want?" Her tone was calm and cold and yet the soldier still looked like he was about to piss his pants.

"Umm… the quartermaster… the quartermaster wants to see you."

Lightning glared at the soldier. "What for? I have better things to do." Lightning's voice was prominent with annoyance

The soldier looked just about ready to run.

"It's... It's... about a new weapon… or something like that. He just wants to see you urgently, it's an order" And with that the soldier wasted no timing in fleeing from the feared Corporal Lightning Farron.

With a big sigh she turned in the direction of the nearest elevator. As much as she wanted to start training she just couldn't just ignore an order.

As she advanced towards the elevator the door opened allowing several people out. These people gave Lightning a wide berth and she entered the soon-to- be-empty elevator as the moment she stepped into the elevator, everyone else quickly cleared out muttering things along the lines of "Oh, I just remembered something"

Lightning took no notice of her fellow comrades as she pressed the button for floor two. Rays of light shone into the elevator and glinted off the metal floor as the now almost empty elevator gradually moved towards the second floor.

As the elevator came to a halt the door opened into a room filled with racks holding every possible weapon imaginable. Gunblades, snipers, heavy machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers and even your occasional minigun. This room had pretty much every weapon possible except none of these held Lightning's interest as she walked towards the separate room at the back with a plaque stating "Quatermaster Rufus Dale's Office"

As she reached the dark metallic door she stopped. Lightning then quickly rapped on the door.

"It's Lightning. You asked for me?"

Sounds of grunting and resounding clangs of objects hitting the metal floor reached Lightning's ears before the door slid open.

A middle-aged man stumbled out of the 'office'.

_Looks more like an overused, messy workshop to me._

The man threw the wrench he had been holding into his 'office' and readjusted his overalls before talking.

"Lightning, it's been a while. Sorry about the mess I've just been tinkering around with stuff" He stepped back from the door, "Would you mind coming in?"

Lightning walked into the room, navigating through the mess of mechanical parts that littered the floor.

Finding a suitable space to stand Lightning finally asked the question that Dale had been waiting for.

"What is this new weapon you wanted me to see, sir?" She crossed her arms across her chest

"Please, don't be so formal." Dale wiped his hands on his overalls.

"As you wish, so what is this new weapon?" As usual her voice was calm and emotionless.

"Ah, I see that the messenger didn't tell you everything?" Dale rubbed his dark stubble

_Probably more preoccupied with turning tail and running than with remembering what he was supposed to tell me._ Lightning just shook her head.

"To keep it nice and simple let's just say that I've received a new prototype weapon for testing and they told me to pick the best soldier in the Regiment to use it. Naturally that'll be you."

"And I'm flattered, what exactly is this prototype weapon?"

"Hand me your gunblade would you." Dale pointed at the sheath strapped behind Lightning. Lightning reluctantly reached behind her and drew her gunblade and presented it to Dale. It was your standard issue gunblade. A long gun with a blade extending from the end. She expected him to examine it or maybe tamper with it but she never expected him to throw it over his shoulder.

No words were needed as Lightning's gaze bore holes into Dale's head.

"Hey, hey calm down. You won't need it anymore anyways. Your prototype weapon is a gunblade and you'll use it as your main weapon"

"At least let me see the weapon." By her tone Lightning pretty much ordered Dale to show her the weapon. She felt strangely vulnerable without a weapon.

"Alright, alright. Touchy as ever I see." Dale fished around in his pockets before bringing out a key. He then walked to his desk, almost slipping on the wrench he threw into the room not so long ago, before opening a safe under his desk.

Lightning just looked on curiously as Dale bent over to retrieve the weapon from the metal box. When Dale emerged again he held a long sword in his hand.

Lightning could see it was a fine sword. She looked over the shiny metal and razer shape blade. The almost white blade gleamed at her.

_A fine weapon, a fine weapon indeed._

Lightning's observations were brought to a halt when Dale placed the blade onto the table in front of him.

"You wanna take a look? Come over here"

_Easier said than done when the floor's littered with enough junk to fill Bodhum to the rim_

"Huh, I guess I really should clean this place up." Dale commented when Lightning finally managed to reach the desk.

"Yes, yes I think you should." Lightning picked up the blade.

"You said it was a gunblade but all I see is the blade" Lightning cocked an eyebrow at Dale.

"Hand it over will you, let the magician work his magic." Dale grabbed the blade by the handle and with a flick of his wrist changed the blade into a gun, the blade pulling back into the mechanism just above the handle. It would have been graceful if he hadn't knocked over his desk lamp while doing so.

"Well, lets just say I wasn't very gifted in co-ordination department." He glanced at the broken lamp lying on the messy ground, "Luckily my mechanical skills are above average, I'm going to need to fix that." He passed the gunblade, which was now in its gun form, to Lightning.

"Yea, you give it a try, you have to flick your wrist in a certain way, and it's really hard to master. I doubt you'll get it on the first…try" Dale paused as he watched Lightning change the gunblade between its different forms with relative ease.

"Not that hard if you ask me" Flicking her wrist again she changed the gunblade into its blade form again.

"And I guess that's why you're the one who's going to use it." Dale tapped the file he had on the desk, "It's called the Blazefire Sabre. It's one of the weapons based off the 'Fire Sabre' branch. This one is specialized for aerobatic fighters. Designed to be lighter and faster than your average gunblade. Made for aerobic fighters, should suit you well. Unlike standard gunblades however its forms are pretty much separate entities. This however means that their forms are more specialized in its role."

"And I like it, I'll be taking it with me." Lightning changed her Blazefire sabre into a gun and placed it into her sheath.

"Great weapon you've got there, there are other models in the 'Fire Sabre' branch too. I've heard of another one which was assigned to a soldier in Palumpolum, designed for ambidextrous soldiers with a duel wielding fighting style. As these weapons are prototypes they're being tested right now and are assigned to soldiers of great capability" He pointed at Lightning. "And for this weapon that'll be you."

"As it's a prototype I'm going to need you to drop in once in a while to give a report on it." Dale clapped his hands together, "I'm sure you're eager to test out your new weapon but could I ask you to drop this in Steven's quarters first." Dale opened a drawer and pulled out a document. He presented it to Lightning.

"You know where it is right? Level five room 42. Thanks a lot"

"Fine, but next time get someone else to do it. I'm not your personal messenger" Lightning slipped the document into her leg pouch before turning and heading towards the door, kicking aside various tools and mechanical parts while doing so.

"Oh and good luck with your partner!" Dale shouted after Lightning as she walked through the door.

Lightning wasn't pleased by this reminder of her upcoming burden and this resulted in a dark look on her face. As she walked towards the elevator she took out her weapon to inspect it once more, causing a nearby soldier to run desperately out of the vicinity of Lightning. A moody Lightning and a drawn weapon wasn't a good match nor was it a safe one.

As she pressed the button for the elevator she tested the weight of her gunblade. She then gave it a few test swings as well.

_Dale was right, I'll give him that much. Light yet balanced, definitely suited for me. Might be useful for taming my new partner. _

As she examined the blade the elevator door opened revealing its occupants. The sight they saw probably gave most of them a heart attack. Lightning holding a blade with a very unsettling look on her face was not a comforting sight.

Lightning looked up from her blade and calming walked into the elevator. As soon as there was an opening the original occupants ran out of the elevator, sighing in relief as the doors closed.

Lightning sheathed her blade and pressed the button for floor five. She decided as soon as her little errand was over she was going to test out her new blade in the training room, it would help her take her mind off her new partner, whoever it was.

As the doors opened Lightning quickly moved towards the corridor that held the room she was looking for. Recognizing the room she took out the document from her pouch and knocked on the door. Only silence greeted her.

_Guess he's not in. Time to do it the good old fashioned way._

Lightning bent down and slipped the document under the metal door but she quickly stood up when a whistle came from behind her.

Turning around she looked at the three men in front of her.

"Good view, why don't you show us it again?" one of the men smirked.

_These guys are either just plain dumb or are looking to get their asses kicked_

"Why don't you hang out with us?" said another man.

_Actually this is perfect. I might just be testing this weapon out slightly earlier than I planned._

* * *

><p>Caius was just about to drift into peaceful sleep when faint voices found their way into his ear, they were too hard to make out in detail however. Groaning in protest as he got up to investigate Caius poked his head out the door. Further down the corridor Caius spotted four people. Three of them were your average male soldiers, dumb, rash, most probably smelly and the perfect cannon fodder. However the remaining soldier was different, firstly she was a girl, young and about his age and had shockingly unusual pink hair.<p>

_Why am I shocked? I'm the one with purple hair._

However what caught his attention was her posture and how it practically screamed out confidence. Emerging from his room he pressed a button, which closed his room, and started walking towards the first form of life he had encountered on this floor. The woman had her back towards him and was speaking to the men. As Caius approached the group, and as the voices got clearer, he started picking up the finer details of the conversation.

"So you're just too high and mighty for us, eh? Well it's about time you got off your high horse missy else we'll have to educate you in the ways of acting like a proper women" growled one of the male soldiers. Caius frowned at this development in the conversation and picked up his pace.

"And just how would you go about with your 'education'? Like your idea of a proper woman is anything better than trash. Maybe it's you who should be educated on how to be proper men." The woman's voice was strained with barely contained anger. Caius was pretty much running now, he had seen enough fights to see how this would turn out.

"Have it your way then, I'm going to need to educate you." spat out the soldier as he swung his arm, fist curled ready to connect with the innocent and defenseless woman. The soldier's other friends also got ready to get involved in the fight. Caius was too far away and he could only grimace as the fist traveled in the direction of the woman's face.

_This isn't going to be pretty._

It was about to connect when suddenly the woman brought her arm up, deflecting the blow. Her arm lashed out and grabbed the wrist of the surprised soldier easily and using his momentum, propelled him into one of his comrades. They both tumbled onto the floor and the woman turned towards the remaining soldier. Dumb as they were, he didn't realize he was outmatched and swing a clumsy punch at the woman. She easily blocked the punch and brought her fist up into the man's belly, driving the air out of him. She then deftly maneuvered around the clumsy soldier and graced his backside with a strong kick which sent him stumbling onto his idiotic friends.

She was surprisingly graceful and the short amount of time it took for her to dispatch her opponents spoke volumes for her skills. By this time Caius had reached the scene of the battle, only to dodge a punch as the woman directed her attacks towards him. Startled Caius stumbled backwards before regaining his footing.

"Wait! I'm not with them!" he shouted as he caught the wrist of the women as another punch almost connected with his nose.

_Phew, close call. Did I say she was innocent and defenseless? By the Primarch's balls, she is NOT defenseless._

"I'm not with them" he repeated again just to make sure another fist didn't travel in his direction, or worse the weapon that was held in the brown sheath behind her.

_How did I miss that?_

She glared into his eyes for a few more seconds before jerking her arm out of his grip. Stepping back she regarded him coldly, almost as coldly as she regarded the three men groaning on the ground. As one man tried to get up unsteadily she reached behind her and drew out her weapon which Caius noticed was a gunblade. Turning it into a blade she pointed the tip of the sword at the man's throat. He just blinked dumbly and just stared cross-eyed at the blade and woman who held his life in her hands.

"Stay down" growled the woman, her voice unexpectedly pleasant even if it was dripping with venom. The man just dropped to the ground, fearing for his life. The woman then turned back to him.

"I saw what happened and came to help," As Caius glanced at the men lying on the ground he also noticed a flash of surprise appear on her face before it disappeared, hidden by that emotionless mask once again. "But I can see that you handled everything just fine by yourself." He offered his hand to the pink haired lady who, to his surprise and delight, turned out to be quite the beauty.

"Name's Caius, what's yours?"

She just ignored his hand and swiftly walked past him before placing her weapon back into her sheath and heading towards the elevator while muttering, "Incompetent simpletons".

_Ok… First impressions, not your average pretty flower and definitely not one you would want to mess with. _

Caius turned around and watched as the woman entered the elevator. As the elevator door began to close he saw her glance at him once more, her eyes cold and emotionless, before the door shut in front of her. Staring at the elevator door Caius just scratched his head before muttering the name of the species that has, for the entire existence of man, been the ultimate puzzle

"Women." Caius just shook his head at the thought.

_Well, that's probably the last time I'll see her. Bodhum's a big place after all._

God, how wrong could I have been?


	2. The 'Ritual'

**Hey Everyone! **

**First off I would like to thank everyone for their reviews, they've been great to read and gave me the motivation that I needed.**

**Secondly, reading through my first chapter I was horrified at the amount of grammatical errors throughout the chapter and was surprised that no one pointed it out. If you ever have any problems with my writing don't hesitate to tell me. I am trying to improve my writing afterall.**

**Anyways, about the story. I modeled Caius off what I've seen from the trailers, which isn't much to go on. However I decided to add little traits to make my characters more interesting. This OOCness might appeal to you or completely destroy your image of them forever. Anyhow that's the way I decided to go. **

**My next Chapter might take a while to write though as my break is over and exams are coming up so please bear with me.  
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** So, without further ado I present my second chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to say this... I don't own anything.**

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><p><strong>The 'Ritual'<strong>

The elevator door opened into a bustling room that finally held signs of life. Caius emerged and took a deep breath, smelling the fragrance of delicious food that filled the mess hall. His painfully empty stomach growled at the thought of food as he hadn't eaten in almost a day and the fridge in his room contained nothing but cold air. The hall was bright and cheery, light streamed into the hall through the many windows that dotted the walls. Many tables were strewn across the room with a number of metal stools accompanying each one. Some of these stools were occupied by soldiers having their daily meal.

Sounds of pleasant everyday conversation filled the hall. However one conversation piqued his interest as he was looking around the massive mess hall. Namely the conversation the two men situated at the table nearest to him were having.

"So what do you think, don't you think the receptionist is hot?" said the brown haired man who was munching on an apple. "She has everything a man wants, don't you think?"

This question was directed at the blond haired man sitting opposite of him who was holding a cup of coffee.

_What I wouldn't do to get one of those. Where the hell is the food counter? _ Caius continued his urgent search for food while the men continued their conversation.

"You mean Sasha? Yea, she's quite the looker but don't you think she's kind of easy? I mean she flirts with every half decent looking guy she meets."

_Yup, you're right on that count. I would know._

Blondy took a sip of his coffee before placing it back on the table. "There are tons of other better looking girls around too."

"Hmm, Lucy then. You got to admit, she is pretty good looking." He took another bite out of the juicy red apple.

_And I wouldn't mind one of those either. God I'm hungry!_

"Nope, no way. Taken and by Sarge no less." The blond man swirled his coffee around before finishing it in one large gulp.

_Ok, now they're just rubbing it in._

"Then, how about Lightning? She's the best looking girl around here. Hell, she's probably one of the best looking girls in the city." He had finished with his apple and dumped the core into the tray in front of him before leaning back in his chair.

_What kind of name is Lightning? Might as well call myself Sky or Sun or Big-Fluffy-White-Cloud. Godamn it, where is that food counter!_

Blondy just shook his head. "You've got no hope with her, cold as ice, she won't let anyone near her and no one will try with her strength and temper. You know the saying about how lightning never strikes in the same place twice? Well, this one will probably strike you more times than you can count if you try and pull the moves on her."

Looking up he noticed Caius not far away and whispered to the brown haired man. "Hey Rand, I've never seen him before. You think he's new?"

"Not sure but I've never seen him before either, only one way to find out." Standing, Rand walked up to Caius, the blond haired man following behind him.

"Hey, name's Rand, this is Sky" he gestured to Blondy. It was kind of ironic as Caius was just thinking about how stupid being called Sky was. Rand continued, "You new around here?"

"Yea, I'm new. Would you know where the food counter is by any chance? I'm starving…" Caius question quickly faded into a puzzled frown at the wide grins each man in front of him bore.

Turning around Sky shouted out catching the attention of every single soldier in the mess hall, which was about twenty. It seemed that most of the soldiers were still on duty.

"Hey, we've got a new guy! Anyone know where Lightning is?"

"Last time I saw her she was at the training room," came a reply from somewhere in the crowd.

_Again with this Lightning, is she a celebrity or something? Seriously, I just want a meal._

He was just about to ask again for the food counter when Sky had his say first.

"Perfect, let's go." turning back to Caius, Rand and Sky started pushing Caius towards the elevator. A majority of the crowd followed whispering in excitement.

"Whoa, wait a minute, just what exactly is going on?" asked Caius confusedly, "I just wanted something to eat."

"Don't worry about the food, that's the least of your worries. Think of this like a welcome party. Ever since Lightning came it's kind of become something like a ritual for every newcomer. Don't worry quite a few of us have done this. Sky and I have too, not that we enjoyed it. Getting your ass handed to you is never fun." Rand just grimaced as he remembered not so fond memories.

They pushed Caius into the elevator and pressed the button for floor three. Peeking through the closing doors Caius saw other people going for the other various elevators in the area.

_Guess the food is going to have to wait. How hard can it be to get a simple meal around here?_

Glancing at the two men Caius inquired "So, just what exactly is this ritual?" He also took this opportunity to observe his companions. Rand was a guy of medium height. He had sparkling green eyes filled with mirth and a mop of messy brown hair. Sky on the other hand was slightly taller, had a head full of spikey blond hair and blue eyes that held the same glint as his friend. Caius noticed that they were probably about a year younger than he was probably fresh out of training too. They each bore a pauldron on their left shoulders. Their stripes told Caius that they were Privates. Another interesting detail caught Caius's attention, namely the scythes engraved on both pauldrons. Caius ended his inspection when he saw the two guys grin at his question.

"You'll see" replied Sky and with that the elevator door opened onto the training floor. From what Caius could see he recognized a shooting range located in a soundproof room, a gym and a training room. Walking out of the elevator he saw a few people in the shooting range. He also saw people emerging from various elevators around the room. It soon became apparent that their destination was the training room as when they reached the metal door which was the entrance to the room they stopped. Caius just looked on in confusion as Rand opened the door and Sky pushed him in.

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><p>Lightning blocked a blow from the holographic sparring program. The hologram reacted just like a normal blade would, its holographic blade bouncing off her extended gunblade. The blade bounced slightly too far to the left and Lightning took advantage of this opening and executed the finishing move, stabbing her blade straight thought the chest of the humanoid hologram.<p>

"Sparring practice victory," a mechanical voice announced as the hologram disappeared "Resume training?"

"Increase difficulty" requested Lightning as she stretched her arms, enjoying the burning sensation in her muscles that came with training. Lightning looked at her blade, her Blazefire Sabre. She had already gotten used to it and it was infinitely better than her previous weapon.

"Request denied, maximum difficulty already established" replied the mechanical voice.

A sigh escaped Lightning as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, pushing her pink bangs out of her eyes as well.

_They really need to increase the difficulty on these things._

"Very well, resume training" said Lightning in irritation. She was already annoyed by the fact that she was getting a partner and the incident this morning on floor five didn't help to soothe her irritation.

Thinking about floor five brought an image into her head. An image of a certain long haired man she had just recently met. She had been surprised when he said that he had come to help her, not that she needed any. Not many people had the courage to talk to her let alone help her.

_I wonder who he is?_

At her command another holographic opponent appeared in front of her. She brought up her blade and grinned in anticipation. She always enjoyed a fight even if it was against a mediocre opponent like this. It would always help her relax, for the duration of the fight at least. As the hologram took the first swing Lightning easily parried and retaliated. Fighting was like breathing for her, her blade like an extension of her arm. As she fell into the familiar rhythm of parrying, dodging and attacking, stray thoughts started to flow into her mind.

_A partner… Huh, why would I need a partner? I've always gotten through things by myself without a problem. _

Lightning remembered her time in training for the Guardian Corp. She had aced all her course except for one, Social Relationships. She was sure that she had failed that one, not that it had been her fault. That creep of an instructor had tried to put his hand somewhere where it didn't belong so she gave him a good solid punch in the face. She didn't think breaking your instructor's nose exactly counted as a pass. Yup, she was sure she failed that one but since her results in other categories were outstanding the Guardian Corps decided to turn a blind eye on that incident.

An unexpected attack rudely interrupted her thoughts and she gracefully back flipped as the holographic blade got uncomfortably close to her face, closer than she was happy with. Landing on the padded floor she then charged back in and went for a stab. The hologram brought its blade up and deflected the blow. They then settled back into the familiar rhythm and Lightning back into her thoughts.

Every single person they tried to pair up with her was useless, incompetent. They created more problems than they fixed and hindered more than they aided when they tried to help. She had ended up doing pretty much everything by herself. If they wanted to give her a partner they could at least actually try and give her someone who was actually competent at their profession as a soldier. With her luck her next partner was going to be as useless as her previous partners. She was better off as a lone wolf.

_Yea, I don't need a partner._ _Lightning strikes by itself._

Those were her thought as she decapitated the hologram. As the hologram disappeared once again the training room door slammed open revealing three guys. She recognized two of them as Rand and Sky. They then proceeded with pushing an all too familiar face into the training room.

Her eyes glinted in annoyance as she whispered to the computer. "Exit training program."

_Who did they think they are? Barging in like this._

"Hey! Come on now, I just want to see the Commander… Seriously, what's with you people? Dragging a guy around like this!" shouted the long haired man.

"Who do you think created this 'ritual'? The Commander has been hoping that someone would be able to beat Lightning someday." Sky replied.

_Not if I can help it._

Sky continued "If you want to see the Commander then you have to fight Lightning first." Sky just smiled at the look of outrage on the man's face.

"Good luck, you're going to need it" laughed Rand before he slammed the door shut in the man's face.

_I guess it's time to test this sword out on a flesh and blood human._

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><p><em>Sonsofuglybitches. Never keep a man from his meal. <em>Caius cursed as he glared at the metal door that had just been rudely shut in his face.

_Who is this Lightning anyways?_ _Oh, right._

He remembered that this so called Lightning was supposed to be in the very room he was in. Caius whipped around and his eyes widened in recognition as he observed the familiar pink haired soldier staring at him. Her unsheathed gunblade also drew his attention.

_Out of every single damn person in this building it just had to be her didn't it? And she didn't seem very friendly today._

"Remember, if you want to see the Commander you've got to fight her!" shouted Sky from behind one of the windows that lined the training room walls, of course it was also reinforced with an iron grid and the glass probably bulletproof. Safety for the observer, not that he was worried about their safety. Right now he was a little more worried about his. He also noticed that Rand and Sky weren't the only ones observing them as more people were coming to watch this 'ritual'.

_Great, now I've got an audience as well. When I get out of here I swear I'm going to kill both of you._ Caius sighed at his bad luck. This was not what he expected when he transferred to the Bodhum Regiment.

_I haven't slept, I haven't changed out of my riding gear and hell, I haven't even been able to get a decent meal. Now I've got to fight a chick who seems to need anger management. This is turning out to be an absolutely great day. I really don't want to think about how the rest of my time at Bodhum will turn out if this is anything to judge from._

The girl called 'Lightning' brought up her blade and let it rest on her shoulders. After racking through his brain he finally identified it as a Blazefire Sabre. There was little he knew about it though.

_From what I know the Blazefire was supposed to be a prototype that was given to gifted soldiers for testing. Great, make that a 'gifted' chick who needs anger management._

"Are we going to start or what? You've already interrupted my training session so let's finish this quickly. You're already wasting enough of my time." she called out to him.

_Impatient and arrogant isn't she? Don't I get any say in this? _

Caius let out yet another sigh.

_Doesn't seem like I have a choice do I?_

Caius reached towards his belt and grasped the handle of his gunblade. He then smoothly pulled out his weapon. As he drew his weapon out Caius heard faint signs of laughter from behind the windows, probably laughing at his harmless looking silver specked black handle.

Caius almost went for the face palm.

_They really need to make this thing look more… weaponly? Well it is a prototype so I guess they didn't really focus on appearances, least not in this form. _

Composing himself Caius gracefully flicked his wrist and his blade emerged from the harmless looking handle. Menacing black steel glistened as the light reflected off the silver grooves that ran along the blade. A quick smirk appeared with his weapon.

_Laugh at this now._

"Rules?" Caius asked as he caught a brief glimpse of interest and anticipation on Lightning's face before she replied.

_Huh, she likes a good fight, impatient and confident in her abilities. Reminds me of… me._

"Blades only and anything goes. Disarmament and forced fatal position count as a win. Best of three."

She brought her blade down and into a balanced fighting stance that exposed no openings.

_She knows her stuff._

"Ready?"

"I'm always ready," replied Caius as he also brought his blade into position in anticipation of the upcoming match. A grin broke out on his face. There were three things in life that Caius enjoyed. Great food, stylish vehicles and a good fight. Fighting always got him excited, it got his heart pumping and his blood racing. Nothing could ever beat an interesting fight.

_Judging by what I saw this morning she's no pushover but if I take this seriously then she shouldn't be a problem._

Taking one last deep breath to calm his body and mind Caius's eyes met Lightning's for a few brief seconds before they both leapt into action, charging at each other as their blades met and locked in front of them with a solid ringing of metal.

* * *

><p>"So I hear you've got a transfer coming in from Palumpolum and you're placing him under my jurisdiction. Anything I should know about him?" asked a carefree Lieutenant Shane Amodar as he walked beside Commander Amber along the corridor back to the base from the hanger, their footsteps making soft chimes as they walked on the metal floor. The Commander, who had just gotten back from his meeting, watched his transport chopper kicking up dust on the helipad before lifting off through the curved window that doubled as the ceiling before replying.<p>

"Let's just say that he's full of surprises," The Commander scratched his beard "I think he'll do well around here."

"Hmm, he might do well but he probably won't enjoy it if what I heard was true. Actually, if what I heard was really true he won't do well at all." Amodar cocked his eyebrow at the Commander, "Did you really partner him up with Lightning on his first day here, actually knowing you, you probably planned it before he got here. Trying to make his life hell already Luke?"

"Well, I needed a partner for Lightning but everyone in this base would probably give up their arms just to avoid that fate. She sure does have a reputation in the Regiment."

"She's a good soldier, a really damn good soldier. She has the spirit of a tiger but she's got the temper to match too. Not one you'll want to mess around with and definitely not someone you want as a partner. You've pretty much ruined the new guy's life in the Regiment. I'm betting on a resignation in about three… no two weeks."

"Ah, c'mon Shane. You place such little faith in the guy. He's got a better chance than anyone in this building. For starters he won't run away if she enters the room."

"She's not that bad is she?" laughed Amodar.

"Well, maybe she isn't as bad as that but you can't deny that some battle-hardened veterans do consider that as a preferable option when dealing with Lightning. I don't think our transfer knows of Lightning's reputation just quite yet though."

"It doesn't matter if he knows her or not. It's still going to end the same way, with him running away with his tail tucked between his legs. That I can guarantee. It's a gut feeling." Amodar grinned at the Commander. "Plus he'll hear about Lightning's reputation sooner or later."

"It might not be very professional of me but would you care to bet on that? You don't even know the guy now do you? Fifty gil?" Amber extended his hand which was open in anticipation of the handshake that would seal the deal.

"And I don't need to because I know Lightning. Every partner we've tried to throw at her ended up the same way. Chewed up and spat out. What makes you think this guy would be any different?" Amodar just shook his head. "Like I said, gut feeling." Amodar said as he clasped the offered hand before putting on a guilty look. "Easy cash, feels bad stealing money from you."

"You haven't won yet. You never know, Lightning might meet her match in this transfer," replied Amber through a secretive grin at his old friend as two soldiers ran past them whispering to each other excitedly.

Oblivious to the knowing smile Amodar released the Commander's hand and retorted. "Yea, well I've already won cause-"his early victory speech was cut short when another soldier ran into him from behind.

"Sorry about that sir," apologized the soldier as he paused briefly in front of them before turning around and continuing to run in the same direction his fellow soldiers went.

Ignoring the soldier Amodar picked up where he left off. "Anyways, like I was saying I'm pretty much already fifty gil richer as-" yet again Amodar's victory speech was cut off as yet another soldier ran into Amodar. Amodar, who was now considerably annoyed, demanded an explanation before the soldier could get an apology out.

"Where in the name of the Primarch is everyone going soldier?" Amodar didn't bother to mask the irritation in his voice. They had just ruined a perfectly good victory speech.

"Ah, sorry sir. We're going to watch the ritual. Lightning's squaring off against the new transfer." And with that the soldier ran off.

"You hear that? They've already gone and started the ritual that you set up." Amodar grinned at the Commander, his irritation already a past memory in light of this new development, "I don't think getting his ass kicked will be a big point in favour of staying at the Regiment. Fifty gil is definitely coming my way."

"You never know, he might be doing well."

Amodar just burst out laughing at the Commander's words.

"Nope, not a chance in hell. Lightning's the best soldier we've got and you set up the ritual in hopes of finding someone who could match her but so far every single soldier that's gone head to head with Lightning ended up with their asses kicked or surrendering with as much dignity as possible after pissing their pants."

The Commander just sighed as they walked into the ground floor of the Regiment's base. "You really need to put more faith in people Shane. I don't know about you but I'm inclined to watch this match." Amber walked to the elevator, "You coming to watch?" he asked Amodar.

"No way in hell I'm missing this. There's nothing more entertaining than watching people getting thrashed by Lightning," bellowed Amodar as he walked into the elevator with the Commander, pressing the button for floor three.

"You know, now that I think about it, what's the point of going up there anyways. By the time we get there this transfer would probably have ran off after getting his ass handed to him by Lightning. It'll be over before we even get there," stated Amodar as he leaned against the glass wall, "Like I said, not a chance in hell".

As a soft chime signalled their arrival Amber just patted Amodar's shoulders, "Like I said Shane, you place too little faith in a guy you don't even know," he said as he walked through elevator's door.

"And you place too much faith in him," muttered Amodar as he followed after the Commander.

Catching these words the Commander replied, "It's not always faith Shane, sometimes knowledge and information helps too."

Amodar just looked confused as they approached the training room which had a large crowd gathered in front of the reinforced windows.

"Holy shit, Lightning's as good as ever!" exclaimed one of the soldiers.

"Yea, but that guy's not bad either. I mean seriously, he's actually managing to keep up with Lightning!" shouted another guy from the crowd in reply. However, loud whistles and shouts of encouragement managed to keep these words from reaching the officer's ears.

As Amber and Amodar moved towards the windows the soldier respectfully parted to allow them to pass.

"It does pay to be a ranking officer doesn't it. Eh, Shane?" said Amber as they managed to reach the window.

"Yes it does, first row seats for a show of ass kicking" grinned Amodar. "Talk to me Lucy," said Amodar as he addressed the light brown haired lady standing next to them.

Turning to face Amodar, her pony tail bouncing in the process, she looked at Amodar with her warm green eyes as she replied.

"He's actually holding up pretty well sir."

"We thought he would last about three minutes like the rest of us did. But he's been in there for a while, at least ten minutes already." This time the man next to Lucy was the one to speak, after taking the cigar out of his mouth.

Amodar's grin faded, all his words that had come out of his mouth not so long ago were starting to come back to bite him in the ass and the irony wasn't lost on him.

"I'm guessing this is the new transfer, he's pretty good and I think he might just do well around here. Wonder which unit is going to be taking him in." The man placed the cheap cigar he was smoking back into his mouth before glancing through the window, just in time to see the purpled haired man dive under a rather vicious swing of Lightning's sword before rolling and performing a counter attack.

"Well actually, he'll be transferred to your unit Sargent Steven." The Commander informed the man as he glanced over Steven's wild and untamed look as he chewed on his cigar. Sure enough the man was a Sargent if the pauldron on his shoulder said anything. Underneath his yellow stripes was an engraved icon of a scythe. Lucy also had a similar engraving on her pauldron under her stripes

Taking the cigar out once again he replied. "Well lucky me." The sarcasm in his voice was plainly evident.

"You know, it might be a really good thing. I mean just look at him down there with Lightning. He sure does look impressive." Lucy gestured to the pair of soldiers going head to head on the sparring mat, a certain pink haired one dodging a long black sword before bring her leg up for a kick aimed at the man's middle section.

"And that's the last thing I need, two hot-blooded, stubborn headed, anti-social prodgies. Lightning is hard enough to command and now I have to deal with two of them?" Steven just rolled his eyes.

"He's not exactly like Lightning and you're the best unit leader we've got so I think you can handle this. And for godsake, how many times do I need to tell you. You know smoking isn't allowed in here." The Commander glared at the brown cylindrical 'bundle of delight' glued between Steven's lips.

"Yea, whatever you say boss. Fire me. What's with the sour face Amodar?" He said around his cigar as glanced at the expression on his other superiors face. "Doesn't look good on you."

"Don't ask." Amodar replied, short and direct, before returning to his sour expression.

Chuckling softly Amber asked "It's out of three isn't it? What's the score right now?"

"That's the thing sir, it's been ten minutes already but nobody's scored yet. They're still going on their first round. It's a stalemate." Lucy's eyes were wide in excitement.

"Really now, that is interesting." Amber stated in surprise and Amodar's expression soured even further.

Amber thought about what he knew about the transfer. He had read the transfers file and knew he was a skilled soldier but it turned out he wasn't just good. He was bordering on exceptional if he could match Lightning who was known as one of the best soldiers in the Guardian Corp, a prodigy even.

"Yea, I know sir. Most of us are just as surprised as you are. We never expected someone to be able to stand up to Lightning. Some people are calling him Lightning's new rival now," Lucy informed them as the crowd whistled in awe at another partially skilful manoeuvre performed by the pair.

Amodar was practically steaming now. Amber just looked amused at his friend's expression and couldn't help but rub it in.

He rested his hand on Amodar's shoulder as he whispered to him. "I think I'm fifty gil richer" he mimicked Amodar's guilty expression from earlier, "Feels bad stealing money from you" he repeated.

"Arrgh, fine I was wrong alright. You can have your stupid money." growled Amodar.

Amber just laughed and patted his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, forget about the bet. Plus I get paid more than you anyways. C'mon enjoy the show, it may not be ass kicking but it sure is entertaining."

"Yea, it's just a bet. Just a bet." Amodar just shook his head before turning his eyes towards the training room and the two figures locked in combat. Both of them had just entered a sword lock and it seemed like neither one was going to back down.

"Knowing Lightning they're probably going to go at it until they both drop dead of exhaustion and it doesn't look like a sparring match any longer. It's almost like they're trying to kill each other. You think we should stop them?" Amodar asked the Commander.

"We should… but let's do it a bit later, we came here to see some action did we not?" laughed the Commander.

Amber removed his hand from Amodar's shoulder and looked at Lightning's soon to be partner as he danced just out of reach of a blade in front of their eyes.

_I don't think Lightning will remain partnerless for much longer and I've got a feeling that he might just last a lot longer than her other partners did. I'll make certain of that._

* * *

><p><em>How damn good is she? Did I say she wasn't going to be a problem? I think I'll take that back cause she is one BIG godamn problem!<em> Caius thought as he hopped backwards, bringing him out of reach of a dangerously close blade. He could hear cheers of encouragement coming from behind the windows.

_Why don't you come in here and cheer? Won't be so easy when you've got a half crazy chick going for your ass!_

Caius was fuming as he dodged yet another attack by Lightning, This one almost gave him a haircut. He then retaliated with a quick strike which was barely blocked by Lightning's blade. They were both tiring and yet they were still both going full out.

_I thought this was supposed to be a quick spar not a duel to the death! My arms feel like they're made from lead._

They had started out light, testing each other's skills and strength but then it had slowly built up. Each strike gradually got faster, stronger. Now they had pulled out all the stops and were fighting at full strength. Their battle was more like one that you saw on a battlefield than in a training room. Caius was forced to switch from his massive blade to his duel swords not long ago, it was the only way he could keep up with Lightning aerobatic fighting. Duel wielding was his preferred method of fighting anyways.

Course, with a battle this vicious, they also had a few injuries. Lightning was showing a few cuts along her arms and Caius had a gash on his left shoulder and a small cut on his face from when he let Lightning get too close.

_That was a really close one, note to self. Do NOT let pretty women with blades get near you, especially this one._

Blocking a thrust from Lightning, he knocked her blade to the side with one of his blades and countered with a stab of his own with the other. Lightning grimaced and disengaged with a backflip, kicking his blade upwards in the process. Wasting no time, the moment her two feet touched the floor she charged him again with a determined look on her face.

_Women just don't know when to quit do they?_

He wearily readjusted his blades back into a fighting position.

_Fine, I'm not going to lose this either._

She started with an ordinary swing of her blade, which he easily blocked, before turning and swinging her leg low, aiming for his leg. Caught off guard he was forced to take a step backwards only to watch as Lightning leapt into the air, still twisting, before bringing her blade crashing down towards him.

Once again Caius took a step back only to feel the cold hard wall slam into his back. He noticed, a bit too late, that they had left the mat in the middle of the room and had slowly approached the metallic walls that made the training room. Due to his moment of error he didn't have enough time to dodge and Caius's only option was to block and that's what he choose to do. Caius brought both of his swords up in a cross so Lightning's weapon landed between his two blades, locked by the tick shaped blades he had on both halves of his weapon. Lightning then lightly landed on her feet, only to stare at Caius through their sword lock.

"Nice try, but you're going to need to try harder than that to beat me." Caius backed his words with a smug smile.

That seemed to tick Lightning off as she didn't seem like she was willing to back down and the determined look on her face only grew stronger.

"Let's see if you have anything to say when you're flat on your back after I beat you." Growled Lightning through the sword lock.

Caius took this as a message to rise to her challenged and flexed his muscles, pushing against Lightning. Lightning tried to fight back but Caius's brute strength seemed to outmatch Lightning's as she was gradually forced back. Forced to disengaged, lest she landed on the ground bottom first, Lightning hopped back onto the mat.

Caius followed and they started circling each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. This time Caius decided to take the initiative. Caius gripped his swords tightly before charging at his opponent

He swung with all his strength straight at his opponent, being careful to avoid her face, not that she was holding back in anyway if the cut on his face was any proof.

_I wonder what she'll do if I hurt her face? But then again I probably wouldn't be able to hurt that face even if I wanted to, it's just too pretty to damage. Wait, why am I thinking about this now?_

Lightning knew that in her state she had no chance of blocking his attack so she quickly sidestepped and slashed with her own blade. Pivoting on his feet to dodge the blade Caius swore he could feel the blade cut the air where he had just been as he barely managed to evade the blow.

_You know she seems like the perfect woman, strong in both the physical and mental sense and beautiful. I might just fall for her if SHE WASN'T TRYING TO KILL ME!_

He continued to turn in his dodge as he joined his swords together and brought his combined larger blade around him and hurtling towards Lightning so quickly she had no choice but to bring her blade up to defend herself. The result was a ringing of metal and a jarring blow to each of their arms as the black and white blades met. Much to both soldier's shame the jarring blow proved too much for either of their weary arms as the both their blades hit the floor with a soft thud as it greeted the padded mat.

Caius glanced at the two blades lying next to each other on the ground.

_That was unexpected._

Caius could feel his body aching all over and from the looks of Lightning she didn't seem to be faring much better. As Caius was just about to ask what was going to happen next, Lightning seemed to be a few steps ahead of him when she brought up her fist with a look of determination.

_So much for disarmament as a win. Guess she doesn't like backing down from a fight. Good, neither do I._

Caius grinned cockily as he also brought up his fist.

_Looks like we're nowhere near done. She's not bad with a sword so let's see how well she does in a good old fashion fist fight._

* * *

><p>He was the toughest guy Lightning had ever fought, no doubt about that. Her screaming body also seemed to agree. Her body screamed for her to rest, take a nice relaxing nap and sleep til noon but as much as she wanted to right now that wasn't a viable option. She bent over slightly, hands on her knees, huffing as she tried to catch her breath. Her arm still stung from the force of the blow he had dealt her. Looking at him she noticed he was just as tired.<p>

She thought about ending it there but an image of his smug smile came to mind. Determination swelled up in Lightning, she couldn't lose now.

Lightning glanced at the blades lying on the ground.

_There are other ways to fight aren't there?_

She brought her fists up and could see her opponent do the same with that irritating grin again.

_I swear I'm going to wipe that smile off his face._

Lightning stole a peek at her opponent's blade on the ground. She had never come across a duel wielder before and certainly nobody this strong. She then remembered what Dale had said earlier that day. He had mentioned that a prototype gunblade specialized for duel wielding had been assigned to a soldier in Palumpolum.

_But why is he here? _All she knew about him was that he is supposedly a talented soldier, if being assigned a weapon like that said anything. She might have finally met her match.

_No, I can't think like that. We'll see who's better after this._

Lightning had also noticed that he never went for her face. Lightning felt the rising heat of anger when she thought about it. Was he really trying to go easy on her? Just because she was a girl he was pulling his punches? Was he mocking her?

_Let's see how strong you really are. _Lightning thought as she prepared herself for the next phase of their match.

_I'm not going to lose_. Were Lightning's thoughts as she charged Caius yet again to begin a newer, different dance.

As she reached her opponent she quickly lashed out with her fist aiming it at his face which also caused Lightning to get a good look at his features.

_Huh, never noticed but he is quite a good looking guy. _Lightning slapped herself mentally. _Get a grip, you've got more things to do than stare at his face. Namely kicking his ass like I do with everyone else I fight._

Lightning's distracting thoughts were broken by a block and a counterattack by her opponent. His fist came towards her at a surprising fast speed.

_As good in hand to hand combat as he is with a blade. He really is talented._

She reacted quickly and brought her arm down to block the blow then turned quickly, building momentum to fuel the power behind the elbow which she was aiming to deliver into the middle of her opponent's exposed chest. Sensing her attack, her opponent just simply disengaged with a quick step backwards as her elbow swept through the area his chest should have been. Her attack had missed him by a hair's breath.

Thinking she would be off balanced he quickly moved back into range, ready to counter attack. However Lightning had kept on turning and this time brought her leg around for a kick and he was forced to quickly bring his arm up in defence. Wincing at the force of her kick he pushed her leg away and followed up with a quick jab which she took on her side. Suppressing a cry she went low and swung her leg in an arc, aiming for her opponent's legs. Sure enough she swept his legs from under him and he came crashing down onto the padded floor. However he didn't stay there for very long as he rolled backwards and nimbly got back onto his feet. He then moved back into his fighting stance, although he was shaking the arm which he had used to block her kick with.

_I pack quite the punch don't I? _

Her opponent pained face seemed to agree as he rubbed his arm.

Cries of approval came from the windows and she gazed at the crowd of cheering people. She was surprised to see the Commander and the Lieutenant gazing back at her. She also saw Lucy and Steven standing next to them

_So even they came to watch?_

Lightning was broken from her thoughts when Amodar pointed at her opponent. She turned to see him throw a punch at her. She blocked it with a grunt.

_Can't you just stay down? _

She threw another punch but to her surprise he grabbed her arm instead of blocking and then, using her momentum, proceeded with throwing her over his shoulder. Lightning quickly used her hand to push off the ground before she could land onto it face first. Performing a flip in mid-air she landed on her feet in a crouch to regain her balance. More whistles and roars of approval came from behind the glass windows.

She could see her opponent sigh as he started to run towards her. Lightning smirked as a fist flew at her.

_Right back at you! _She thought as she grabbed his arm and kicked his legs from under him. What she didn't expect however was for him to tighten his strong grip on her arm to bring her down with him.

This unexpected move resulted in Lightning straddling the obviously surprised male lying on the ground as their faces were merely inches apart. Her pink hair fell past her shoulders and tickled the man's face as her cool blue eyes gazed into warmer brown ones. She didn't know how long they stared at each other as she tried to get over the shock.

_What the hell just happened? This isn't what I meant when I said he would end up flat on his back._

Wolf whistles snapped Lightning back to the present, into a training room observed by god knows how many people.

_I'm going to kill every single one of them. _Lightning growled as she got up hurriedly, her face slightly pink. The man just sat up and blinked dumbly.

Composing herself she regarded him with a blank stare, her cold soldier's expression masking any emotions. As she stared at him he turned his head and met her eyes. Surprised, she quickly averted her eyes glaring instead at the windows which no doubt shielded plenty of people who had just witnessed the spectacle. Her glare however seemed powerful enough to piece through bullet proof glass as all whistling abruptly stopped.

_Why do I feel so… flustered around him? It makes me feel weak. I don't like it, I don't like him. _ Lightning thoughts were interrupted as when, for the second time of the day, the training room door slammed open allowing Lieutenant Amodar and Commander Amber into the room.

* * *

><p>Caius just stared blankly at Lightning as she retrieved her weapon before she turning to greet their superior officers. Standing up, Caius's mind was all but focused on the present as his mind was still trying to process the recent events.<p>

_Did that just happen? That was not how I thought our sparring session would end. How did a simple spar end up with her on top of me? Was that her interpretation of 'try harder'? _

He remembered the feeling of her hair dangling over his face, tickling him with her fine silky hair. Then there was her face, so close he could feel her breath. And then there were the eyes, the sparkling blue eyes that had caught his gaze and burned his mind with the fire he saw in her eyes, the fire of strength and willpower.

_It might not be such a bad day after all. I mean it's not every day that you end up straddled by an amazingly beautiful woman. _A smile appeared on his sweat covered face.

"What are you grinning at soldier?" Returning to the present, Caius found three pairs of suspicious eyes glaring at him.

"Nothing sir" Caius wiped his smile off his face as he glanced at the bulky man with a thin moustache who had asked the question.

"Nothing my ass, anyways as you don't know him this is Commander Amber. Huh, you probably don't know me either do you. I'm Lieutenant Amodar and you'll be under my command," Amodar gesture to the Commander, "I believe the Commander wants to have a few words with you."

The Commander stepped forward before addressing the sweat soaked pair.

"I believe I speak for myself and the rest of the soldiers when we thank you for your entertaining show," Loud cheers and whoops followed the Commander's remark. "It was truly entertaining event."

Amodar decided to have his say then as well, "It was definitely a great show, even worth fifty gil if you ask me. Definitely the most entertaining so far since Rand got his ass whipped in this very same room. Great finale too by the way. " Amodar just smiled when someone from behind the windows shouted out in outrage.

"With all due respect sir, shut up" growled Lightning. She clearly didn't like the reminder of what had just transpired.

"As great as it was I'm going to need to call an end to it as we have more pressing matters at hand. Let us call it a draw as I am sure you both agree that you are fairly evenly matched in terms of skill." An angry glance was thrown in the direction of Caius at the Commander's words.

_I don't think one of us is happy with that conclusion judging from that glare she's giving me._

"I would like to see the both of you in my office, of course you shall have adequate time to freshen up. After all, I wouldn't want two sweaty soldiers to foul my room." Amber then turned to Amodar.

"Oh and Shane, I would like you to send Unit Seven up there as well." Amodar just confirmed the request with a nod of his head.

"Very well then, I expect you to be there sometime soon. Good day soldier." And with that the Commander turned and exited the room with the Lieutenant by his side.

Shrugging, Caius glanced at Lightning only see her looking at him with a cold stare, a stare he was getting familiar with.

"Good match?" Caius extended his hand out in a friendly gesture, smug smile on his face once again, which Lightning obviously ignored as she walked past him and through the training room's door.

_Ignored once again, this is starting to become an old habit. _

Caius let his arm drop to his side. Wiping his forehead, he felt the sweat that stuck to his hand. He also felt his sweat-soaked headband. Taking it off he regarded it with a sour face as he watched the sweat drip off the headband.

_Yup, I'm really going to need to freshen up. _Caius thought as he grabbed his gunblade and walked through the open metal door.


	3. Partners

**Hey Everyone!**

**I know it's been awhile since my last update but I've been swamped with work and things like that but that's enough complaining. :3**

**Lux-9: As for my little error with Caius's appearance I would just like to thank you for pointing that out. It's just that when I wrote the second chapter I only had the teaser trailer to go on and I really couldn't make out the proper details so I just went with a random colour. Plus I forgot to change it when the other trailers came out. (^/^)  
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**ClaireAveriaFarron: By all means go ahead. I thrive on criticism. You've actually helped me tons with my errors. I'm just not a good proof-reader, I keep missing stuff. I got I feeling that this chapter's gonna contain a lot of errors as well. (T_T) Anyways, you have my thanks as well.**

**For the rest of my reviewers I also have to thank you for taking the time to read and actually write a review so... thanks :D**

**Alright, with that done and dusted I present my next chapter. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: You should know by now... not mine.  
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* * *

><p><strong>Partners<strong>

Caius adjusted his unbuttoned Guardian Corp jacket as he made his way towards the elevator. They had finally restocked his room and that meant he had things to wear and more importantly, things to eat. The plain and simple sandwich had tasted like a feast at a five star restaurant.

His selections of clothes were pretty bland though. The only items in his closet were a few uniforms, pants, a simple black T-shirt and a jacket. He was never a fan of the uniform and he decided to mix it up a little. He wore a black T-shirt covered by his uniform jacket and plain jeans. Wasn't the best look but it sure looked better than the complete uniform.

_How could anyone stand wearing that uniform? It's about as comfortable as the blanket we got in Palumpolum and that isn't a complement._

With a change of clothes and a full belly Caius could move onto more important tasks like his meeting with the Commander of the Bodhum Security Regiment. As he pressed the button to call the elevator he adjusted his belt which held a black pouch and his sheath which held his gunblade.

A soft "Ding" announced the arrival of the elevator and the doors opened to reveal none other than Corporal Lightning. She looked almost exactly the same as she did during their little impromptu sparring sessions only a whole lot cleaner. He also instinctively searched for her weapon just to make sure it was safety sheathed as safely sheathed meant that it couldn't be pointed at him. He already had more than enough experience with that blade and was keen to avoid any further interactions with the weapon and its wielder.

_I swear I'm a magnet for a specific pretty lady with a sharp blade, a fiery attitude and a cold exterior to top it all off._

Caius slowly walked into the elevator aware of Lightning's cold gaze.

"Hey!" Caius said in a friendly greeting as he tried to break the ice, not that it worked.

_Why am I trying to be friendly in the first place? Not so long ago she was trying to kill me._

Lightning probably had the same thought as she just ignored him and looked out of the elevator at the city around them, or maybe she just didn't like being friendly. He wouldn't rule that factor out.

_I'm leaning more towards the unfriendly, throwing a punch as a greeting doesn't seem very friendly to me._

Caius let out a sigh before leaning against the wall.

_Well…this is awkward, so much for breaking the ice. Hell, why did I even bother to try, she IS the ice._

The rest of the trip to the top floor was made in absolute silence which was only broken by the mechanical hum of the elevator. Caius looked out the window only to notice the setting sun, its soft rays of light slowly fading, hidden by the horizon. Caius turned his eyes towards the other occupant and watched as the soft light bathed the cold beauty. Lightning turned away from the magnificent view and locked eyes with Caius, her gaze unflinching. Her eyes felt like it held a purpose, like she wasn't going to back down from a challenge. It wasn't long before Caius wretched his eyes away from her strong glare, staring at the blank doors of the elevator instead. Her gaze had managed to bring up the not-so-old memory of the incident in the training room.

_At least this should be my last time with her. I just have to get this meeting over with then I'm free right? Wonder what the Commander wants us for?_

Once again the elevator doors opened with a soft chime revealing a familiar reception area and an all too familiar receptionist.

The receptionist spared Lightning a quick glance before focusing all her attention on Caius. As Caius walked up to the desk she put on her seductive smile once again.

_Unbelievable, she still hasn't given up. What was her name again…? Something like Susan no, uhh…What was it? Oh yea, Sasha that's right._

"Hey Sasha, the Commander wanted to see us." Caius leaned on the desk, not noticing the irritated glares that were being sent in the direction of the receptionist by the soldier behind him.

Sasha however did and her smile widened as she talked to Caius.

"Aww, that's sweet. I never told you my name and you actually went out of your way to find out. Maybe we should find someplace quiet? I'm much better company than her. That I'm sure of." There was no doubt she was talking to a certain pink haired soldier.

"Maybe you should reconsider my request?" It was a win-win situation for her, she got a chance at a cute guy as well as piss Lightning off. However there was just one thing she didn't factor in.

_Uh, out of my way? Yea sure, if you can count randomly listening to a person's conversation while desperately searching for something to eat as out of my way. _

Caius let out another sigh, he had been sighing a lot recently.

_It's time to end this. Now I've got to find a way to turn her down nicely… screw that. _

"Ok listen, I've had enough of the flirting and such. Quit it already. I'm just not interested, you're just not my type." Caius gestured to the door to the Commander's office. "Can we go in now?"

Caius's harsh flat out denial had deflated Sasha's spirit somewhat as her smile disappeared.

Pushing off the desk, Caius caught a glimpse of Lightning's face.

_Was that a smile I saw? Nah, couldn't be?_

Sure enough Lightning face was once again emotionless.

Sasha pressed a button and spoke into the microphone. "Commander, Corporal Farron and…" she looked questioningly at Caius.

"I'm sorry, I never got your name?" queried Sasha.

_That's comforting, trying to pick me up without even knowing my name. She hasn't even bothered to ask until now._

"Kreiss, Caius Kreiss" he replied to the inquiry.

Sasha then continued to speak into the microphone. "And Corporal Kreiss are here, should I send them in?"

"Immediately Sasha." The voice coming from the speakers was easily recognizable as the Commander's.

"Very well sir" And with that Sasha pressed another button and the doors swung open. "Forward in."

"Thanks" said Caius as he briskly walked to the door, eager to get away from the receptionist before she decided to somehow forget his flat out rejection and resume her flirting.

Lightning followed behind but when she passed the reception desk Sasha whispered some words meant only for her ears.

"Great pick, couldn't have picked a better one myself. Make sure you keep a good eye on it else I might just steal it from you." Sasha said this all through a smug smirk.

Once again Lightning's emotionless mask was broken as a flash of irritation appeared on her face. She quickly composed herself and walked through the office doors.

* * *

><p><em>I wonder what's the worst way to die? Might just pick one and test it out on that smart mouthed receptionist. She really is asking for it.<em>

Lightning entered the office to see Caius taking one of the comfortable looking seats in front of the grand desk.

The Commander who was seated behind the desk swept his hands over the seats in front of him.

"Lightning, take a seat"

Lightning moved to do so and as she did the doors shut behind her. She covered the distance quickly, her boots making soft sounds as she walked across the marble floors, before sitting in the chair next to Caius.

"So, let's be clear here. Corporal Caius Kreiss, you had submitted a form requesting a transfer to the Bodhum Security Regiment from Palumpolum. May I inquire why?"

At the Commander's question Caius's face darkened slightly. "Personal reasons."

_I wonder what's he's hiding._ Lightning looked at Caius through suspicious eyes.

"And I presume that you wouldn't disclose these reasons?" The Commander cocked an eyebrow at Caius.

"I rather not." Caius leaned back in his chairs before glancing at Lightning. "If I may ask, why is she here?"

_What, you got a problem with me being here?_

Lightning opened her mouth in preparation for a witty retort but the Commander interrupted her.

"I'm glad you brought that up. If I may pry into your life, did you have a partner in Palumpolum?" The Commander looked curiously at Caius while he scratched his beard.

"Yes, once. Why?" Caius asked. Judging by the slight frown on his face he didn't like the ways things were going.

_Hmph, I know how things are going to turn out and I still don't like it. _

"So then I take it that you have some experience in a partnership, yes?" The Commander looked eager for his answer.

_Uh, the Commander always gets way too excited with my partners. What's the point, it's not like they're going to last anyways._

Caius nodded, "I believe I do."

"Then you'll need to pick a partner in the Regiment."

"Already? But I don't know anyone here." Caius scratched his head.

Lightning just watched the conversation with a slightly interested expression as she waited for the coming bomb shell to drop.

_As much as I hate the idea, this might just be fun to watch. _Lightning smiled, inwardly of course.

"On the contrary I believe there is a suitable candidate." The Commander grabbed a file from under a pile of books and looked at it thoughtfully. After briefly flipping through the contents of the file he placed it on the middle of his desk and tapped it with his finger. "Yes, I believe she would be suitable."

"What candidate? And who's she?" puzzlement filled Caius's handsome face.

"Then I guess it's settled!" A wide grin broke out on Amber's face.

Caius was thoroughly confused now, "Settled? What's settled? And who's this candidate?"

_Here it comes._

"This is my candidate, and your partner" The Commander lifted the file up and pointed to the picture on the document, a picture that held a very familiar looking person. In fact, when Caius turned in his chair and looked sidewards he saw the exact same person sitting next to him.

Amber gestured at Lightning. "Meet your new partner from today onwards."

_Hey there! Surprised?_

Caius clearly was as the look on his face meant that this wasn't the answer he was expecting.

"Congratulations and good luck, I've got a feeling you two would make great partners."

Caius's mouth fluttered open and closed. "What!"

_Great, another dim-witted partner. I just have this kind of luck with partners don't I?_

"You're going to make her my partner just like that!" Caius exclaimed, "Don't I get any say in this?"

"Hey look, I don't like it either but you don't see me whining" Lightning glared at Caius.

"I'm not whining, I just wished they picked a more competent partner." Caius commented arrogantly without thinking.

_Oh, now he's trying to pick a fight._

"Do you have a problem with me?" Lightning's voice was low and dangerous.

Completely disregarding the venom in her voice Caius continued, "Yea, I do. Less than an hour ago you could barely match me." That stupid smug smile was back.

"If I recall correctly you weren't faring much better either." Lightning rebutted.

"Well, that's why we wouldn't make good partners. At some point we're going to end up killing each other to solve this little dispute." Caius appealed to the Commander.

_And that I would be fine with. You might actually put up a half decent fight._

"Don't worry, you'll grow on each other. You'll be the best of buds in no time." The Commander still had a large smile on his face, in fact Lightning wondered if it had gotten bigger.

'_Best of buds'? More like mortal enemies._

Caius looked stunned at the clear and blatant disregard the Commander had for his objections.

_Nice try. When the Commander has decided on something it's impossible to change his mind. _

"I've decided and you will be Lightning's partner. I've made up my mind and that's an order."

"Why was I chosen to be her partner? Did Lightning want me as her partner or something? Was it because of my killer good looks?" Caius slumped back in his chair, cocking his eyebrows at her cheekily.

_Is he serious?_

"In your dreams" Lightning growled.

Caius wasn't done with his arrogant rant quite yet though. "Why do I need her as a partner? It's not like I need her."

Lightning believed this was a perfect moment to make her thoughts clear, "The feeling's mutual" she spat out.

"Actually, we planned for you to be Lightning's partner the moment you transferred. Your files say that you are an outstanding soldier. We thought it would be advantageous to put the elite with the elites, hence your partnership with Lightning. You're her partner and that's final." The Commander still looked pleased even with the amount of bickering going on in front of him.

"The best with the best… Sooner or later, down this road you're going to lose one of your elites." Caius muttered from his seat.

_And I'll make !#$%^&* sure that it won't be me._

"Fine, I'll be her partner as obviously no one else will." Caius had finally admitted defeat. He had just witnessed the Commander's stubbornness firsthand.

The Commander directed his gaze at Lightning, "And you Farron?"

Lightning gave a hesitant nod, "Very well sir."

The Commander observed the two soldiers in front of him. It was clear that they had no choice but to accept his order but that didn't mean they had to jumping around in joy for it.

"Alright that's enough. Caius, you'll be assigned to a unit now that you've got a partner. Lightning's unit to be clear." The Commander pressed a button on his desk and spoke into the microphone. "Sasha, is Unit Seven here yet?"

A short conformation came from the receptionist.

Standing up the Commander pressed another button and the doors to the office swung open.

"Come with me," The Commander walked towards the open door, "And you too Lightning"

Caius and Lightning got up to follow the Commander as they walked through the office doors into the reception area.

* * *

><p><em>How can they just dump her on me like that? One battle I can handle but being stuck with her for god knows how long? Ugh, just my luck.<em>

Caius's thoughts were cut short when he noticed the group of soldiers in front of him. There were four of them, smartly dressed in their uniforms. As Lightning and Caius walked into the room three of them saluted and the one who didn't walked forward. He was about six years older than Caius and in his mid-twenties. He had dark brown hair and had an overall wild look. He presented his hand in greeting and the Commander took it.

"Steven, glad you could make it." Amber shook Steven's hand firmly. "Where's Amodar?"

Releasing the handshake Steven replied "He'll be here soon. He had something to take care of."

"Very well," turning, the Commander waved his hands at Caius, "May I introduce you to your newest member, Corporal Caius Kreiss. He's also Lightning's partner."

The last bit got a reaction out of the other soldiers, there was admiration with touches of pity mixed in.

Steven gave Caius a good look, taking in every detail before moving towards him and offering his hand.

As Caius shook his hand the other man introduced himself.

"Sargent Steven Maine, I'll be your unit leader." He then led Caius to the rest of the team.

"You already know Lightning." he gave a glance across the room at the mentioned lady who was glaring daggers at Caius.

Sasha who was watching on stifled a giggle and Lightning turned her eyes onto her.

Amber noticed the silent battle going on between the two women and he decided to intervene. "Sasha, take a break."

Sasha nodded and got up to leave. However she threw in another mocking smile at Lighting before leaving the room which protected her from any retaliation that, judging by the expression on Lightning's face, looked likely at the moment.

Steven then continued to introduce the rest of the team. Out of the three, two of them were male and one was a woman. The woman was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed as she watched them approach. The other two guys were just looking on with grins on their faces.

"This fair lady is Corporal Lucy" Lucy was only a few years older than him. She was a fit looking slender lady with light brown hair that was tied up behind her in a ponytail. Overall she was quite pretty.

"Nice to meet you Caius" she said as she greeted him with a smile on her face. "About time we got some new blood in the unit."

_At last! The first woman I've met who hasn't flirted with me or tried to kill me. I might actually start meeting normal people._

Steven then moved on to the males standing next to each other.

_Then again maybe not._

Steven then started to introduce the two grinning men. "I would like to introduce Private –"

"Introductions won't be necessary sir," Caius interrupted as he glared at the grinning Rand and Sky. "I know them quite well." Caius didn't seem to be thrilled to see them again.

"Hey there, great show you put on." Rand said hastily, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"You know, while I was in there I thought about the possibility of causing grievous bodily harm to the two miscreants that dumped me into a room where I had to fight for my life against her." Caius jerked his thumb towards Lightning who just scoffed.

Sky starting making excuses as he and Rand slowly backed away, aware of Caius's threat. After what they saw in the training room they were pretty sure he had the skills and capability to carry it out. Also, with Caius's scary glare they were beginning to wonder if Lightning had met her match in more ways than one.

"C'mon, it was just a bit of fun you know. She never fought like that with us."

"And I won't ever need to, I could take you both on blindfolded." Lightning commented from across the room.

"Yea! See? We never knew she would go that far." Rand had a weak smile on his face.

Steven decided to interrupt the intriguing conversation there. "Making friends already aren't we Corporal, however try to keep them alive as although they may not look like it but they are valuable members of this unit."

"Phew, thanks Sarge. You could have just possibly saved our lives." Sky said letting out a sigh of relief as they expressed their gratitude.

"Don't get used to it." Steven then turned to back Caius.

"I'm sure you can forgive them for any misdeeds they have committed against you. You're not the only one to suffer by their hands. " And with that he cast a quick look at the two guys as they made innocent looking faces.

"I can agree with that, those two are known as Bodhum's biggest troublemakers for a reason. " Lucy said as she grinned affectionately at them. "But you might want to postpone that act of forgiveness, you can be sure more pranks are headed your way."

"Alright, just as long as these pranks don't involve throwing me into a hellhole to fight against a crazy demon."

"You're treading on thin ice." Came a dangerous voice from behind Caius.

_Aw crap, think I pissed off the demon._

Luckily for him the elevator chose to open at that moment. Lieutenant Amodar emerged from the lift and then promptly headed towards the group.

"Shane, about time you got here." The Commander said as he shook Amodar's hand.

"Got held up in a report on a new group, NORA or something like that. Nothing major though." Looking at the unit he nodded in greeting at Steven. "So what have we got here?"

"Just making introductions. Caius, Lieutenant Amodar here will be your commanding officer. On the field you will report to your unit leader, Sargent Maine, but you will take orders from the Lieutenant outside combat. Understood?"

"Yes sir" replied Caius quickly.

Amodar then stared explaining the finer details about the unit. "I trust you have met the members Unit Seven. On the field Unit Seven is known by the call sign Reaper hence the symbol on each member's pauldron. You will also be assigned a unit number. I'm sure you can guess who Reaper 1 is." Amodar pointed at Steven.

"Reaper 2 belongs to Lucy." Lucy gave a smile at the mention of her number.

"Lucy and Steven are partners. Partners are also placed in the same unit. This is the reason why you are joining the Reapers as Lightning is Reaper 3." Lightning gave a sharp nod.

"You will fill the spot which is left vacant for Lightning's partners. You will be Reaper 4 and let's hope you stick with that position for far longer than Lightning's other partners did." The two trouble makers chuckled at this.

"Rand and Sky are Reaper 5 and 6 respectively and they are also partners." At the mention of their numbers they both gave mock salutes.

Amodar then addressed Caius directly, "I'm expecting great things from you. Do your best." An odd twinkle appeared in Amodar's eyes. "And good luck with Lightning."

_Why is everyone always wishing me good luck? _

Caius glanced at Lightning. She was still looking at him with unfriendly eyes.

_Now that I think about it, I might just need it._

As Amodar finished his introductory lecture the Commander talked to Caius. "I'll let you have a few days off, enough to get you settled into Bodhum. There are accommodations here if you need them but you have permission to buy your own property as well. However take note that during an emergency or when there is a military issue you will be required to live and stay in the Regiment's base for quick deployment when necessary. Is that clear?"

"Crystal sir" Caius saluted before rubbing his neck. He had an eerie feeling that someone was staring at him, well besides Lightning.

"Alright then that's about it, dismissed." As everyone turned to leave the Commander said one more thing, "Oh, Rand, Sky i know it's pointless to persuade you not host a party so I'm just going to say that I expect you to be sober tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes,sir." Rand and Sky saluted, however judging by the gleam in their eyes they didn't plan on following the Commander's order and he knew it.

"You too Lieutenant, I would like to see you sober too as well."

Amodar laughed "I'll try my best, no guarantees though."

The Commander chuckled, "Have a good night" he said before turning and walking back into his office.

The rest of the soldiers left, entering the elevator when it came.

"Alright!" Rand rubbed his hands together, "Who's coming to the party?"

Amodar grinned at these words, "I'm there but it would help if you told us where it is first."

Sky quickly answered Amodar's question, "We're planning to have it at LeBreau's Bar down at the coastal area. The best place to go in Bodhum and the food is divine. So who's coming?"

"I'm there. Wouldn't miss a good party in my life." Lucy said enthusiastically as she accepted the invitation.

"I guess if Lucy's going I better go as well, gotta keep an eye on her." Sky took it as a conformation from Steven.

Rand and Sky then looked at Caius.

"Yea I would love to come but I've got thing to prepare for and uhh…" Caius smiled weakly.

"You're coming. No ifs, no buts, you're definitely coming." Rand urged, although it sounded more like an order despite the rank difference.

"You have to come, the party's being held for you anyways. It's your welcome party if you like." Sky nudged Caius lightly.

_Their first welcome party ended up with a fight against a pink haired demon. I dread to think how this party is going to end._

"You're going Corporal, that's an order." Amodar ordered, effectively ending any objections. "And you too Corporal Farron. He's your partner after all."

_And even the demon is coming. Kill me now._

"Is that an order?" Lightning asked as she leaned on the glass walls of the elevator.

"Course it is." Amodar then asked Rand the crucial question. "What time is the party?"

"About eight, just get there around then."

"You hear that Caius, you better be there. You too Lightning." Amodar sounded like he meant it.

_Never thought of him as a party kind of guy. Then again this place is full of weird people. _

Caius saw from the corner of his eye that Lightning didn't like this new development in her nightly schedule as her annoyance was painted on her face.

_I guess I should have seen it coming. Anti-Social is definitely one of her traits. _

Caius then looked at Sky who was humming a tune as he watched the lights on the lift signal their descent. Caius then opened his mouth to ask a question.

"So where exactly is this bar, and what's this talk about food?" Caius was curious to know about this heavenly bar with amazing food. He was fine with any place, just as long as they had a great menu.

_If I've got to go, might as well make the most out of it._

"It's in the coastal section of Bodhum. You have a GPS right, just get directions from it. It would be easier than teaching you the whole map of Bodhum. You have plenty of time to do that later. As for the food, it is divine. You won't find anything better in Bodhum. That I can guarantee." Sky informed Caius, satisfying his curiosity. The door chose this moment to open for floor five.

"You had me at food, I'm there." Caius glanced at Lightning only to see intelligent aqua blue eyes gazing back at him. Once again he ended up staring into those eyes.

_Even with her hot temper and all you got to admit, she still is pretty !#$%^&* beautiful._

"Are you getting out? You're blocking the doorway. You can stare at your partner later." Rand whispered into Caius's ear.

"Uh, yea, right. Sorry about that." Caius stammered before leaving the elevator with Rand, Sky and Steven following behind him, the door shutting after them.

"Alright time to get suited up for the party!" Sky patted Caius's and Steven's back.

"Which room are you in Caius?" inquired Steven.

"Room 60" Caius looked down the hallway. To his annoyance his room was pretty far away.

"Ouch, took the wrong elevator didn't you. Anyways, I'm going to get ready. See you guys there." Rand said to Caius before rushing into room 43.

"Yea, same here." Sky then pressed the button on the room opposite of his friend's, "See you guys later." He waved at the remaining soldiers in the hallways before entering the room marked 44.

Shaking his head Steven muttered, "Kids these days."

"Keep talking like that and you might actually sound old, you can't be past 23." Caius joked at his officer's comment.

"You try leading this unit and then tell me you don't feel old. There's a lot more going on in this unit than you can think of." Steven snorted. "And I hope you've got a more sensible head on your shoulders than those two." He gestured to the two rooms that Rand and Sky went into.

"Talking about those guys, why are you going to their party anyways?" Caius questioned curiously.

"I've got to keep an eye on Lucy. Plus I always like a good cold beer." Steven laughed. "Ok, it's almost about time already, I'm going to follow those two crazy troublemaker's lead and get ready. You should too, I'll see you there."

And with that Steven pressed the button next to his door. As it opened he glanced down, a brown document catching his attention. He picked it up and looked at it curiously before moving into the room, the door closing behind him.

Caius took that as a signal to start that strenuous trek down the corridor to his room.

* * *

><p><em>Why does his gaze always make me feel so weak? It's like he's messing with my head.<em>

There was no question to who 'he' was as Lightning stared at the absentmindedly at the metal doors.

_I'm going to make him pay for making me feel like that._

"So, what do you think of your new partner?" Lucy whispered to Lightning, startling her.

Lightning blinked a few times before thinking of things she could say.

_Smartarse, jerk, dumb-witted, confuses the hell out of me._

An image of Caius's smug smirk came to mind.

_Oh, and lets add arrogant as well. What else do you want me to say?_

Of course Lucy didn't want to hear that so she just summed it up with, "I don't like him."

Lucy didn't seem very satisfied with her answer though.

"C'mon, give me more. You always say that about your partners. There has to be something else you have to say about him? What do you really feel about him?"

_Oh, so you do want me to say those things._

Luckily the opening elevator door came to the rescue. Little did Lucy know, these doors saved her from learning a whole new bunch of insults.

"Alright girls. I'll leave you to your girly talk. I'll see you at the party, you better be there Lightning." Amodar glared into Lightning's eyes after he walked into the armoury floor which doubled as the officers rooms. Amodar's dark eyes locked with Lightning's as he demanded a conformation.

Lightning responded with a soundless nod, the scowl on her face showing her displeasure.

"Good" With that Amodar turned on his heels and walked into the weapon filled room. Lightning caught a glimpse of the quartermaster approaching the Lieutenant before the doors closed.

As the elevator continued its journey downwards its artificial lights flickered on as the sun took its place beneath the horizon.

Lucy chose this moment to continue their one sided conversation about Caius. "You might not like him but I do, he sure is one good looking guy. I've found myself staring at him quite a few times in that short space of time, course I was secretive about it. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how cute he looks?"

Lightning just shook her head silently, looking out into the city as its lights started to flicker on bit by bit throughout the city.

"So you're saying that you haven't even looked at him once." Lucy was starting to wonder if Lightning preferred the opposite gender at all.

What Lucy didn't see however, to Lightning's great relief, was a faint pink blush on her face as she remembered the incident in the training room. Lightning was thankful that at that moment her face was hidden by comforting darkness.

_What is wrong with me? I swear the next time I see that man I'm going to torture him for messing around with me like this._

Thankfully, before Lucy could ask any more questions, the elevator door opened into the white halls of the medical bay. Lightning remembered Lucy helped in the medical bay as she had some medical training.

Lucy walked about before turning around and waving cutely, "Ah well, we'll talk about this later. At the party then?"

_Not if I can help it._

"You better be at the party," Lucy waved one last time before walking down the white corridors.

Lightning sighed at the constant reminder before the doors closed.

Lighting took a few steps back before lying against the cold glass walls and titling her head upwards, staring at the metal ceiling.

_What is it about my new partner? _Lightning pondered as the elevator started moving once again. The dull mechanical hum was her only companion.

There was no denying that her newest partner was different, unique, and she wasn't just talking about his looks. There was something about him that made her feel something she hadn't felt before, a feeling she didn't understand and she didn't like it. To say it was confusing was an understatement.

Lightning brought a hand up and rubbed her forehead, as if she was trying to push this feeling out of her head. Needless to say, it didn't work and Lightning growled in frustration.

_Oh, Caius is going to regret the day he met me._

She then for some reason imagined his smug smirk.

Pushing off the wall Lightning was just about to throw a punch at the metal doors to vent her anger when it opened, causing Lightning to stumble into the parking lot. Luckily no one was around to witness her embarrassment as Lightning started to take deep breaths of the musty air as she tried to control her anger.

When she decided as was calm enough she moved towards where her vehicle was parked, abolishing all thoughts of her irritating partner from her mind. As she walked along the rough concrete she past a stylish black velocycle.

_Ooh, kudos to whoever drives that._ She thought as she admired the vehicle.

Wrenching her eyes away she walked to her own vehicle, another velocycle. This one however was red but still held similar sleekness of the other one. It had a nice shine to it as the lights of the parking lot reflected of its glossy paint. Retrieving her keys from her leather pouch she stuck her keys into the ignition before mounting her metal steed.

She smiled as she flexed her hands on the handlebar, enjoying the comfortable feel of her velocycle. Without any further delays she started her velocycle and sped out of the parking lot and into the fresh night air of Bodhum.

Lightning lost herself in the thrill of speed, her pink tresses whipping behind her head like a wave of pink smoke. Lightning pushed down on the throttle and a childish grin broke out at the growl of her engine. She flew past ordinary vehicles, speeding down the highway at insane speeds. As she weaved through the cars in front of her she noticed the scenery slowly changing, the towering buildings of Bodhum gradually getting smaller in front of her eyes as they gave way to the smaller, cosy houses of Coastal Bodhum.

Eventually road turned to sand and she slowed down as she drove parallel to the gentle sea, heading for her house. Lightning pulled up in front of a cosy looking house that watched over the white beaches of Bodhum. It was separated from its neighbors by thick hedges that were around head height.

Lightning drove a little further onto the concrete drive way before dismounting. Leaving her velocycle on she approached the front door only to stop and reach into her leg pouch once again to find her house keys. Bringing them out she was just about to place them into keyhole on the wooden door when it slammed open, missing her face by inches.

"Claire! You're home!" shouted a happy teenaged girl. Her appearances bore a striking resemblance to Lightning's with her pearly white skin and blue eyes. Her hair fell just short of her shoulders but was gathered up in a cute ponytail on her left side, flowing onto her sleeveless white blouse. More importantly however was that her hair was the same shade of pink as the women in front of her.

"Yes Serah, I'm home" Lightning replied to the merry greeting before dropping her keys into her pouch and brushing past the smiling girl.

A blind man could have told that they were related due to their similar appearances but their personalities couldn't be further apart. Serah was as sweet and bubbly as boiling caramel while Lightning seemed to be made of ice. This place however was the one place where Lightning could open up.

"I made dinner! I hope you like rice!" Serah closed the door before walking towards Lightning, a spring in her step. She clasped her hands together behind her short chequered skirt and swayed in front of Lightning, waiting for an answer.

Lightning reached behind her and unclipped her sheath, hanging it on a hook by the door instead. She then went into the kitchen which smelled suspiciously of burnt rice.

_How did she manage to burn rice?_

Shaking her head she turned to her sister who had followed her. "I'm sorry Serah, as much as I want to stay for dinner I've got to go out."

"Oh," Serah's smile dropped. "Where are you going?"

"I've been ordered to go to a party." Lightning jumped onto one of the stools that were situated near a counter which created a barrier between the kitchen and the lounge room.

Serah's eyes lit up in interest. "A party? The kind of party that you have fun in and socialize?" She sat down on the couch. "That's surprising."

"Uh huh, tell me about it. But what can I do, they ordered me to go." Lightning leaned across the counter and grabbed a glass before filling it up at the nearby tap.

"Well think of it as a good thing, you might actually have fun there and you can socialize." Serah beamed at Lightning.

_I highly doubt that I'll be having fun and as for socializing... let's just say it isn't my forte._

"Making friends is simple, first you have to approach them. Then you see if they're fun to be with and likes the same things you do and-" Serah happy smile was back as she continued with her step by step guide on how to make friends. Lightning didn't seem to be as happy though, she seemed to look more shocked.

_Am I seriously getting advice on how to make friends from my baby sister?_

Lightning could only blink in disbelief as Serah continued her lecture.

_This can't be happening._

"Making friends can be really easy you just need to-"

"Serah?" Lightning interrupted.

"Huh, yea?" Serah still had her teacher face on.

"Please, stop, just stop." Lightning just grinned at the disappointment on Serah's face before taking a sip from her glass.

"Well at least tell me where the party's at?" Serah got off the couch and sat on the stool next to Lightning.

"LeBreau's" Lightning finished her glass of water before placing it down. She then hopped off her stool and started pacing along the glossy wooden floor.

"LeBreau's? I've went there before! It's a really great place plus it's near the beach. Oh, and the food is great too!" Serah said excitedly as she watched her sister walk around aimlessly. "Who's the party held for anyways?"

_A jerk._

Lightning's face darkened, "It's being held for my new partner."

Serah looked at her sister's face, curious about her expression. "You've got another partner? What's he like."

_Really? Again?_

"Please Serah, don't ask. " Lightning snuck a peek at the clock hanging above the TV.

_It's almost time._

"Aww, c'mon Claire. At least tell me what he looks like?" Serah pleaded.

"Serah…" Lightning's voice held a warning in it.

"Sorry." Serah grinned sheepishly, she knew Lightning would never hurt her but something told her that annoying Lightning too much was never a good idea.

"Are you going to change?" Serah jumped off her stool and clapped her hands excitedly, "Cause I want to help!"

Lightning was momentarily horrified at the image running through her head, an image of her baby sister using her as a dress up doll while grinning madly at every outfit. She probably had a bigger arsenal of clothes than the Guardian Corps had weapons. Shoes, hats, bags…and dresses.

_Urgh, dresses… how can anyone stand wearing them?_

Lightning, overcoming her moment of weakness, quickly declined Serah's offer.

"It's alright Serah, I think I can manage by myself." And with that Lightning briskly hurried into her room and shut the door in front of a very disappointed sister.

Emerging a few minutes later Lightning had replaced her uniform with a form fitting sleeveless black leather top which was tied in front and reached a little short of her simple faded jeans, She also wore black leather knee high boots and a black leather belt was wrapped around her waist.

Serah had to admit that Lightning did do a pretty good job but that wouldn't stop her sulking.

Lightning let out a sigh, that look messed with her head almost as much as Cai-

_Better not go there._

"Fine, I'll let you dress me up next time ok?" Lightning offered grudgingly.

Serah's face brightened immediately, "Really?"

"Yes" Lightning could almost see the combination of dresses and accessories that were running though Serah's head.

_I'm regretting this already._

Lightning looked at the clock once again.

"I've got to go." Lightning headed for the door, "I might be late so don't stay up for me. Oh, and if you find that dinner isn't as appetizing as you thought it would be there are sandwiches in the fridge."

"OK, bye Sis. I'll have some clothes ready!" Serah waved at Lightning as she walked through the door.

Looking out the window Serah watched as Lightning mounted her velocycle and sped off, clumps of sand spurting out from behind her wheels, before she disappeared.

Serah then walked over to the stove and looked at the pot on top of it. Lifting the lid she took one breath before slamming it back down, coughing at the smell of burnt rice.

"Ugh, where are those sandwiches."

* * *

><p>Caius looked onto the city through the clear glass of the elevator. His eyes wandered across the lush beaches and admired the rhythmic flow of the sea as it caressed white sand. The rays of the morning sun from earlier were replaced with the softer, dimmer light of the moon. The fall of night however didn't mean the city was any less alive as the lights of countless houses filled the city, glowing almost. Bodhum was as breathtaking as it was when he first arrived.<p>

_It's beautiful…Like Lightning._

Caius's eyes widened in shock at this thought.

_There I go with Lightning again. I really need to control my emotions before I make a fool of myself. _

Caius tugged his leather jacket closer around him. Caius had swapped his uniform jacket with a black leather one but everything else remained the same.

Although his closet was now stocked it didn't mean that it had a large selection of clothes. It was either this or his riding gear which somehow didn't seem very suitable.

His lack of gear and thus his lack of preparation meant that he had left far earlier than his new team members. He was now alone waiting for the elevator to complete its slow decent to the parking lot. Caius took this opportunity to contemplate about the recent events.

_Lightning's partner… it's going to be interesting to say the least. _

Caius smiled at the thought but it quickly disappeared.

_But I can't lose track of the reason I'm here. I'm just going to have to wait until they appear again._

The opening of the elevator doors signaled the end of Caius's thoughts as the musty smell of the parking lot filled his nose.

Locating his black velocycle Caius quickly flipped opened the storage compartment to retrieve his helmet before placing it on. As he left the parking lot he whispered to his GPS.

"GPS, LeBreau's Bar Bodhum."

Sure enough his trusty GPS projected a small map on his visor, showing the way to his destination.

_Ha, this GPS was worth getting, should thank Noel-_

Caius caught himself before he broached a taboo subject, a subject that would hurt him a great deal.

Caius dragged himself away from darker memories of his past as he approached Coastal Bodhum, dodging the many cars that were still around even considering the time. Street lights shone onto the road, battling the darkness of night as Caius steadily followed the directions of his GPS. The road slowly disappeared the further he went into Coastal Bodhum, turning into sand instead.

When his GPS beeped, signalling his arrival, Caius looked up to see a lively bar with a splendid view of the lush beaches.

Pulling into one of the parking space, Caius dismounted and removed his helmet. He then gave the bar a good look. It was an open bar with a patio facing the beaches which allowed the fresh sea air in. Many patrons were also traveling between the beaches and the bar. Caius also noticed an empty balcony on the top floor overlooking the beach. The bar was filled with lights, excessively almost. It also seemed that, for tonight at least, LeBreau's was very busy with the loud buzz of conversation and masses of people. Pumping music was also evident as it battled the idle chatter for dominance.

Smiling Caius strolled up the sandy pathway before pushing through the front doors.

_Tonight might turn out better than expected._


	4. An Ordinary Party

**Hiya Everyone!**

**Sorry about the long update again... :3 But I promise I'm trying my best.**

** It's funny. This chapter was originally going to be a small part in another chapter and only about a 1000 words long but it kind of... expanded. You guys might think it's bad or you might love it. It's up to you to decide.**

**Onto the reviews. Once again ClaireAveriaFarron you have made my life a whole lot easier. I can't thank you enough. Thanks to all my other reviewers as well for taking the time to write a...well... review.**

**Oh, and Twelfth-Pie and ivory65 you're both right. It is based off the Lightning DLC from Dissidia which is pretty much Aya's costume too. At least I know that my descriptions are easy enough to recognize. :D  
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**Anyways, four chapters and 30 000ish words finishes off my first day in the story. Enjoy and R&R. \(^0^)/  
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**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure it's clear that I don't own anything.  
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* * *

><p><strong>An Ordinary Party<strong>

Lightning gazed out the window only to see a figure on a black velocycle grind to a halt in front of the bar with a screech of his tires. Lightning recognized the glossy bike as the one from the parking lot of the base. Lightning's sinking feeling was confirmed when the rider removed his helmet revealing the one and only Caius Kreiss, her new partner.

_I'm starting to regret every complement I paid to that cycle. _

Lightning was seated at one of the wooden tables that was stained from the years of spilled drinks. It was located near the wall and next to one of the numerous windows that were scattered all around the bar. The table held plenty of room for company but right now none of the long seats were taken as Lightning's cold glare proved efficient in shooting down eager males who saw a lone woman and a pretty good looking woman at that.

It was ironic as, although she was the one who was constantly reminded to come, she was the first one there. Out of her Unit anyways. There were other members of the Corp around the place.

Lightning watched as Caius strolled up towards the Bar before entering. His entrance had seemed to attract quite a lot of interest, mainly the female kind. Ignoring him Lightning returned to staring outside before another vehicle caught her gaze. She watched as Steven and Lucy emerged from their silver car. Even from here Lightning could tell Lucy's eyes were gleaming with excitement. She was virtually dancing as she walked up to the bar with Steven smiling behind her.

As she entered Lucy's eyes quickly snapped to her and it was clear that Lightning was her destination.

Steven on the other hand went towards Caius who had taken a seat at the table near the opposite wall.

"So you did pick up the courage to come after all!" started Lucy as she grabbed a seat opposite Lightning. "What do you think of the place?"

"Lively to say the least." Sure enough, pumping music and loud chatter did count as lively.

Lucy took off her jacket and draped it over her chair before grabbing the menu on the table.

"Are you going to get anything?" Lucy questioned as she brushed back a stray lock of hair.

"Just get me what you're going to get." Lightning replied as she watched Rand and Sky walk side by side up the pathway.

"Alright then." Lucy got up and went to order from the bar, greeting the two males as she walked past them.

_Remind me why I'm here again?_

She snuck a peek at the table Caius was sitting in as he spoke to Steven.

_That's right, he's the reason why I'm here. Let's add that to the rapidly increasing list of 'Why to make my new partner's life hell'._

She then watched as Rand and Sky walked over to greet the rest of the males in the unit. Her eyes were drawn to Caius especially. Lightning carefully inspected his confident posture, the sway of his purple hair when he rose to meet his companions, his lean muscles flexing when he extended his arm, his exotic eyes that were a shade of deep purple, the movement of his lips when he talked…

Lightning slammed her face against the table.

_What am I looking at...?_

"Uh, am I interrupting something?" A voice came from above her.

Lightning looked up to see Lucy regarding her with a puzzled face as she held two plates of steaming food.

Lightning quickly hid her blush and sat back up. "That was quick, I thought you had to wait ages before you could get anything around here?"

Lucy placed her plates on the table, bringing the aroma of seafood with it. "Well, I'm just going to say that my charm can work wonders."

Lucy complemented her boast with a sly grin.

"So you flirted with the bartender?" Lightning grabbed a fork and stabbed it into her meal.

"Pretty much, the male one of course. The one with blue hair." Lucy copied the woman opposite her.

"Isn't Steven going to be angry if he hears about that?" Lightning commented at her friend's bold statement.

"Nah, he knows my heart belongs to him," Lucy replied with a cheery smile before taking a few bites off her plate.

"That's very logical thinking you have there. You believe that he has your heart so you go flirting with someone else." Lightning's voice was laced with sarcasm.

"And this is coming from the all so knowledgeable Lightning Farron?" Lucy matched Lightning's tone with an extra smile, "You've got to admit though, I did get us something to eat pretty quickly. That's got to be a positive right?"

"So do you love Steven?" Lightning choked a little on the 'L' word.

"Of course" Lucy looked like Lightning had asked the dumbest question in the world.

"Isn't it scary though? You're both in the Corp so isn't there a chance that one day, one of you won't come back?" Lightning placed her fork down and regarded the slender woman with serious eyes.

Lucy's cheery expression evaporated instantly. Her face took on a similar serious look, "It's a risk we all took when we joined the Corp and yes, it is scary. That's why we have to make the most out of life. We're living on borrowed time here."

"But you're still willing to continue your relationship even knowing that?" Lightning leaned forward.

"It's love, what are we supposed to do? Cut our bond and just pretend we never knew each other? If you think that's the right way then you clearly don't know the meaning of love."

"No, I didn't mean that. It's just that I wondered what love was lik-" Lightning stopped herself just a little too late.

_Ahh, crap._

A cheeky grin grew on Lucy's face, erasing the serious expression from before completely. "Oh, you want to know what love's like? Someone you have a crush on?"

"No!" Lightning shouted a little too loudly causing the people who weren't already staring at the two beautiful ladies to turn around and direct their eyes towards them.

Lightning lowered her voice and leaned in, "No, nothing like that, I was just curious."

The look on Lucy's face clearly meant that she didn't believe her pink haired companion.

"Sure, if you say so. But if you ever want to talk again I'm here" Again the all-knowing smile was planted on her face.

_Curse you and your smile. _

"I thought you were supposed to be my friend?" Lightning scowled at her supposed 'friend'.

"I am, and that's why I'm not laughing my head off right now." Lucy chuckled softly at Lightning's expression before a large shadow loomed over their table.

Lightning and Lucy both glanced up to see one of the tallest men they had ever seen. This burly man was dressed in an equally burly light brown trench coat. His shirt was slightly open which revealed his muscular chest and he wore a black bandana over his platinum blond hair. A little tuff of blond hair peeked out from his bandana between his sky blue eyes. Light stubble covered the lower part of his handsome face.

"Hey there, name's Snow. Could I get you a drink?" He politely asked Lightning with a charming smile on his face. He seemed to be confident with women but his charms were no match against Lightning's icy exterior.

"No." Lightning's simple yet flat out denial seemed to be lost on the man thought.

"Are you sure? You can always use a drink." Snow offered again.

_You just can't take a hint can you?_

"I already said no, do I really need to say it again?" If voices could freeze, Snow would have been a solid ice cube by now but Lightning's tone seemed to have trouble getting through his skull that seemed to be as thick and strong as the rest of his body.

"Just name something and I'll get it for-" Snow was interrupted when Lightning slammed her hands against the wooden table. She then rose and stood as close to face to face as possible with the massive man in front of her. She barely came up to his shoulders but her ferocity made up for the height difference.

"Listen and drive this through your thick skull. You can either leave now or I can make you leave. Decide, now." Lightning's fierce gaze bore into Snow's eyes. Her icy tone had evaporated and turned into an angry one instead.

Snow opened his mouth to get another word in but Lightning wouldn't have any of that.

"Choose, now." Lightning's temper was expressed quite clearly through her tone and the hand that was itching towards the gunblade which was unfortunately absent. Snow could count this as his 'lucky day'.

_Of all days I picked this one to leave my weapon at home._

Snow raised his hands defensively and stepped backwards, "Alright, I can see that I'm not welcome. I'll leave." Snow quickly retreated from the angry woman. She was a great looking girl but her temper just wasn't worth it.

Contrary to what she said earlier Lucy burst out laughing, "Did you see the look on his face, if you ever get into a relationship I feel sorry for the guy you're with."

Lightning sat back down before turning her glare towards the woman cracking up opposite her. "You can stop laughing now. I've gone through enough today and I really don't need someone laughing at my love life, or lack of."

"Ok, I'll stop." Lucy took a deep breath, "Still, if you treat every guy you meet like that you're going to end up single for the rest of your life."

"I don't have time for a relationship." Lightning resumed eating her dinner which was rapidly cooling. She hated cold food, it reminded her off the digesting cold gruel they served her at training. Training wasn't the most pleasant period of her life.

"You just need to make time, it's that simple." Lucy resumed the attack on her meal.

Lightning shook her head at these words, "Nope, completely and utterly busy. You know I get all the overtime I can."

"You won't believe how much time you would free up if you didn't sleep so much." Lucy countered.

Lightning finished the rest of the meagre amount of food that was left on her plate before talking, "Are we really going to talk about my sleeping habits now?"

"I still find it funny how the cold hearted soldier can sleep like a baby till midday if given half the chance but if you don't want to talk about it that's fine."

"I've got to get all the sleep I can." Lightning complained as she wore a sour face meant she didn't want to stick to this subject any longer.

"So instead, tell me when you're going to get into a relationship?" Lucy asked with bright eyes. She was obviously extremely intrigued with this subject but it seemed like Lightning was as reluctant to talk about this topic as her sleeping habits.

"Do we really need to talk about my love life either? Wouldn't yours be more interesting? You already know that I've gone nowhere near a relationship." Lightning placed her fork down and twisted on her seat to lean against the wall, showing off her well-toned legs as she crossed them on the seat in front of her.

Unknowingly Lightning had just given many males another little thing to admire as not a few appreciating nods were sent in her direction in response to her movements. Even if Lightning didn't notice Lucy certainly did. However she certainly wasn't going to tell Lightning as she was sure that the Corp didn't want to pay compensation for an utterly ruined bar caused by the short tempered soldier across from her.

Lucy grinned at her oblivious friend, "And that's what interests me the most. I still wonder how you can keep the guys off you but I guess an icy cold glare that can kill with a glance does seem to come in handy when trying to fend off your many admirers."

Lightning just looked confused, "Admirers?"

Lucy rubbed her face in despair, "You know, sometimes you can be so mature but at other times you seem more innocent than a three year old girl holding a piece of candy."

Lucy continued with an overview of Lightning's love life.

"Have you looked in a mirror recently? With those looks you're pretty much a magnet for every straight guy out there." Disbelief at Lightning's naivety was written all over her face.

"I've never really noticed" Lightning admitted.

"You really are hopeless aren't you? Why do you think you have to shoot down the massive number of guys that ask you out?"

"Well I've always just seen them as nuisances. Why does it matter if they ask me out, it's not like I'm going to accept." Lightning tilted her head to the side as she thought curiously.

Lucy dropped her fork onto her empty plate, "I give up. I admit defeat. You're beyond help."

A frown marred Lightning's flawless face, "Are you insulting my womanly charms?"

"Womanly charm you've got aplenty," Lucy pointed out, "It's just that you don't know how to use them."

Lightning shook her head in disagreement, "It's not that I don't know how to it's just that I don't want to. What's the point of getting into a relationship? It just makes you rely on your boyfriend and I don't need to rely on anyone."

"What's wrong with you? You're starting to sound like a forty-year old granny. By the maker, you're nineteen. You're supposed to be hitting on every boy you meet, letting the hormones run wild." Lucy sighed in defeat at the look of disagreement on Lightning's face.

"You know what? Forget it. Let's find something better to talk about. How about we see what everyone else is doing? I wonder how your new partner faring."

_If this is your idea of a better topic Lucy then I really don't want to know what your bad topics are._

"Don't know, don't care" Lightning replied blandly from her position, brushing away a few strands of pink hair out of her eyes while doing so.

Lucy's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Do you really hate him or are you hiding something?"

This time around Lightning managed to prevent her stupid blush from appearing,

_ !#$%^&* you blush, !#$%^&* you Caius._

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. No reason at all." Lucy made a cute innocent looking face. "Just look at him, how could anyone not be attracted to him?"

Lightning's eyes took a very quick glance at Caius before it scanned around the room. Sure enough she noticed all the feminine gazes directed at her partner but it was ironic as she somehow failed to spot the male eyes directed at something else. Instead Lightning's gaze wandered to a flight of stairs near the bar entrance. Right now Lightning saw the numerous wooden steps as god given miracle that would save her from Lucy's lectures and 'innocent' questions. It was also during this observation that she saw Steven fall to the ground.

"Oh, looks like Steven's having a fun night." Lucy looked on as she rested her head on her palm, "Should we go see what's going on?"

Pushing her plate into the middle of the table Lightning stood up, "I'm going to get some fresh air."

"Oh, alright then." Lucy looked disappointed at the abrupt end to their girl talk. On the other hand Lightning's brightening face seemed to mean that she was quite happy it was over.

"If you like we can talk about this later." Lucy got up to head for the rest of the unit as she waved to Lightning in farewell. Lightning returned the gesture with a nod as she steadily proceeded to the stairwell, turning a few heads as she did so.

_If everything went the way I liked we wouldn't have had that conversation in the first place._

She took one last glance at her partner only to lock eyes with him. They stared at each other for a few brief seconds, sapphire eyes gazing into amethyst ones, before she walked up the stairs and pushed the door open into the cool night air.

* * *

><p><em>I've got to admit, Sky was right. The food is divine. <em>

Caius swallowed a mouthful of his incredibly tasty dinner before talking.

"So what do you think they're talking about over there?" Caius was watching the two females on the other side of the room chat.

"A little girl on girl talk probably, not something I want to get into. Understanding the language women speak borders on the impossible." Rand took a small sip out of his drink.

"It's impossible for Rand cause he's never gotten close enough to a girl to even make out what they're saying." Sky punched his partner's shoulders playfully.

"Alright, now that isn't true" complained Rand as he returned a punch which was answered by yet another one. It seemed that Caius's new teammates were starting to feel the effects of the alcohol they were drinking.

"So, what's my new partner like?" Caius asked, interrupting their banter on their experience with women.

Releasing Sky from a head lock Rand replied to Caius's question, "Lightning? Ah, you want my expert advice on how to handle Lightning and be perfect partners don't you? Her last partner asked the same thing."

"So, what can you tell me about her?" Caius leaned forward to listen to this 'expert' advice.

Before Rand could say anything Sky started first, "The most crucial rule with Lightning is never, ever, ever piss her off. And if you do, you won't have a pleasant day."

_Oops, first rule broken right off the bat… and the day hasn't seemed to be very pleasant either._

"Hey, he asked me." Rand nudged his companion.

"Yea, well you were too slow. We'll just tell him together." Sky shrugged.

"Tell me everything you guys know about Lightning." Rand and Sky nodded in confirmation.

Sky was about to speak when a loud cry of "No" came from the table Lightning and Lucy were sitting at. Turning around they watched Lightning leaned in and whispered something to Lucy.

"What do you think that was about?" Caius asked as he continued to watch the conversation between the two women.

"I rather not know." Rand replied, "Anyways, Lightning joined the Bodhum Security Regiment somewhere during last year from what we've heard. She was supposed to be one of the best trainees they had and they were right. She was good, real good, but what dragged her down was the fact that she couldn't work well with people."

Sky then took over, "It didn't help that she wasn't very friendly either but people were still willing to approach her then."

"Then why isn't anyone approaching her now?" Caius looked curious at this revelation about his new partner.

"Ha, that's the best part. Earlier this year, about two months after Rand and I joined there was an incident in the mess hall. I'm betting you can guess who the cause of this incident was."

"Lightning." Caius answered to the no-brainer question.

"Yup, there was some kind of dispute between Lightning and a Unit. Not really sure what had happened between them but it ended up in a fight." Sky was smiling as he remembered the details.

Rand picked up where Sky left off. "We aren't sure who threw the first punch either but we sure as hell know that Lightning threw the last. She brutally took out a unit of six in under three minutes in the middle of the mess hall. That's kind of why we were surprised that you managed to hold up so long."

"From then on most people avoided her. She really went at them. It was like she was almost trying to kill them. What their little dispute was over was never know either. No one wanted to ask Lightning and the Unit refused to talk so it remains a mystery." Sky chugged down the rest of his drink.

Rand followed his friend's lead and downed his drink as well before speaking. "So there are pretty much three groups in the Regiment when it comes to Lightning. The first two groups are the bigger ones. The first group are scared out of their minds by Lightning. The second group admires her as both an effective soldier and as a goddess of beauty but they still keep their distance. Just look around you, tell me how many pairs of eyes are directed at the table that our fellow female unit members are occupying?"

Caius did as he was asked and sure enough Lightning was attracting more than a few pairs of eyes. Some resorted to underhand peeks while others just stared openly. It was amazing that the trainer soldier had somehow missed this as he was sure if Lightning knew, the bar wouldn't have been standing anymore.

Lightning wasn't the only one receiving attention though as Caius was starting to yet uncomfortable under the feminine scrutiny.

Caius directed his attention to the two males in front of him, they had also managed to whip out more bottles of beer from god knows where. "Yea, I can see what you mean."

"Like I said, goddess of beauty and yet no one will go near. This is why we came up with her call sign, Valkyrie. Warrior goddess. Fitting don't you think?" Rand started his new bottle and so did Sky.

Caius nodded, it was indeed fitting. He remembered her ferocity as well as her grace during their little fight.

"I thought the call signs were Reapers though?" Caius took another sip from his drink.

"That's our unit and we're officially known by the numbers but we came up with call signs of our own but we can talk about that later. You want to know about Lightning right?" Sky looked at Caius, seeking an answer.

He got it when Caius nodded in agreement.

After wiping his mouth Sky proceeded with explaining the last group, "The last group is by far the rarest. It consists of a handful of people who can actually talk to Lightning normally and look her in the eye without making a mess down below. With the skill you showed us during the 'Ritual' there's no doubt you fit in the last group. You're the first person who has actually managed to match Lightning." Sky waved a hand at the female bartender signalling for a refill.

"Is there any more 'expert' advise?" Caius's curiosity wasn't satisfied just yet.

"Our second piece of advice would be not to fool yourself into thinking you're her partner." Sky watched as the bartender in rather revealing garments walked towards them with three bottles of beer, her black hair swaying lightly.

Caius raised his eyebrows in confusion, "But aren't I?"

"Well you are but one thing you have to remember about Lightning is that she prefers to work alone. Sure if the situation is desperate she wouldn't mind lending a hand to a fellow comrade but it's like she lacks the ability to trust us. She thinks that she has to do everything herself." Sky grabbed the drinks and offered one to Caius. He also gave a thankful nod to the bartender before she was called away. Interestingly it seemed like she was the owner of the bar as she responded to the name Lebreau.

"Do you know why?" Caius accepted the offered drink.

"Nope, it's just another thing hidden in her mysterious past." Rand popped the cap of his bottle and took a large mouthful, his friend following his lead.

"Drink that much and you're both going to regret it tomorrow." Caius watched as the two men in front of him empty half of their bottles in mere seconds.

"Not as much as those two though." Sky swung his bottle in the direction of Steven and Amodar who were partaking in a merry drinking game and they didn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping anytime soon.

However Caius's observation were short lived as he turned his eyes towards the two men walking towards them.

One was a bronzed muscular man wearing a short vest that displayed his impressive muscles to the whole world. He also had an interesting hair the colour of fire that was spiked up. .

The other guy was quite different. The short blond locks that weren't covered by his black bandana swung around as he steadily walked towards them, his massive feet making loud thuds as they met the wooden floor. Oh, and he was gigantic too.

_I'm pretty tall but this guy is just… wow._

Rand and Sky seemed to notice the newcomers as well and they were looking on in interest.

When the men reached the table the blond haired man spoke first.

"Name's Snow. I hate to bother you but would you happen to know the girl sitting at the table over there?" He pointed at the table Lightning and Lucy were sitting at.

"Which one, the pink or brown haired one?" Rand answered the man's question with another one.

"The pink haired one of course." Snow face had a confident grin planted on it

_Oh, so that's what this is about. If you're going to do what I think you're going to do then you won't be smiling for much longer._

Caius was about to warn Snow about the various dangers and the possibility of death when Sky talked first.

"Oh we know her, she one fine looking gal isn't she? Lucky for you she's single at the moment so if you want to try your luck this is the best time to do it." Sky's eyes held a mischievous gleam but Snow seemed to miss it.

"Alright then, time to woo some women." Snow rubbed his hands together.

Snow's friend seemed to have a clearer head on his shoulders though. "Snow, I don't like it. Just look at her man. There's something different about her."

"Gadot, you worry too much," Snow patted his red headed friend's shoulder, "Of course she's different. Have you even seen someone that looks as good as her?"

Once again Caius was cut off before he could support the more intelligent red-headed man.

"Go for it, you never know, it could be your lucky day." Rand voiced his approval, his eye's holding the same glint as his partner.

"Let's see how this turns out." And with that Snow took off in the direction of the table that was occupied by the two women.

When Snow was out of hearing range Gadot turned towards Rand and Sky. He had caught the gleam in their eyes. "I'm guessing it's not really his lucky day?"

"Nope, but it will be entertaining to watch." Sky replied cheerfully.

Caius just shook his head. "Remind me not to get caught on the wrong side of one of your pranks. I actually feel sorry for the guy."

"Don't worry, you won't notice you're in our pranks until it's too late," Rand laughed merrily, "Now let's watch the show."

Caius watched as Snow began a conversation at Lightning's table. "So, any last bit of advise?"

"Uuh, one last thing." Sky finished off the rest of his bottle, "Never ask Lightning out. No matter how tempted you are never ask her out."

Now this last bit of unorthodox advice caught Caius's interest. "And why is that?"

"One, she's never going to accept anyways and two, she'll get pissed." Rand offered Gadot the rest of his beer and he graciously accepted.

"And you know getting Lightning pissed is pretty much suicide right?" Sky placed his bottle on the table and watched as Lightning's temper grew.

"How pissed exactly?" Caius asked.

Suddenly Lightning slammed the table in anger and stood up and looked Snow in the eye before verbally slaughtering him. Caius could feel the menace in her voice from where he was sitting.

Sky smirked, "That pissed."

"Right, should have seen that coming." Admitted Caius as he watched Snow back away from the seething soldier and made his way back to their table while nursing his wounded ego.

Dropping onto a seat, he leaned his head back before groaning, "That went well didn't it."

Gadot took a seat next to Snow as he took another gulp out of his beer, "Ha! If by well you mean being kicked back here with your tail tucked between your legs."

Snow turned his head lazily towards his red-headed friend and smiled but the sounds of laughter drew his attention to the trouble making duo.

Caius could only look at the two men with respect. They had just tricked a man that was pretty much a moving mountain and they still had the courage to laugh in front of the said man as well. That demanded some respect. Not that respect would get them very far if Snow decided to take offense.

Luckily for the two, Snow didn't seem to take things too seriously as he joined in the laughter.

After the laughter stopped Gadot shouted at the female bartender for another round of drinks.

Grabbing a tray she promptly moved towards them before practically pegging the bottle at Snow and Gadot.

"You said you would help out tonight! I really don't think flirting with the patrons and drinking up all my stock really counts as helping." She glared furiously at the 'helpful' friends, her eyes melted through Gadot's and Snow's extra thick skull. They seemed to shrink under that gaze and somehow the bartender looked a lot more intimidating than Snow despite his size.

_Is Bodhum full of scary women?_

"That's the last drink you guys are getting, at least Yuj and Maqui are helping." She gestured at two other workers, one had blue hair and the other wore goggles.

As she turned to the other occupants of the table her angered expression magically disappeared. Instead the smile that she wore was so sweet that it seemed impossible that it was the same person.

"I hope you enjoy your drinks." She gave them their drinks and walked off with a sway of her shapely hips.

"Acquaintance of yours?" Caius asked the two males that were still trying to recover from their ordeal.

"Her name's Lebreau, she's like a sister to us, a really scary sister." Gadot took a deep breath and then took a large drink out of his bottle, "And sometimes I wonder if she actually is a demon from an evil world but those are just my thoughts."

"It's just because you're a wuss," Snow patted Gadot in mock sympathy. "Anyways, I noticed you tried to say something when those two told me just how nice your lady friend was."

The 'two' knocked their beer bottles together in celebration at the reminder of their success.

"Is she someone special to you?" Everyone's ears perked up a little as they were quite interested in his answer.

Caius, uncomfortable in the spotlight, just laughed. "Her? Not in this lifetime, I just met her today for starters. Plus she's tried to kill me twice already."

Snow opened his mouth to ask another question that Caius knew was almost certainly about his relationship with Lightning. Luckily for him, Snow was interrupted by a thud which came from a body making contact with the ground behind them. It was then shortly accompanied by snoring.

Everyone turned to watch the man resting comfortably on the wooden floor, a man that Caius recognized as Steven. Looking up they saw a table that was filled with what must have been hundreds of empty bottles. It seemed that their merry little drinking game had kind of gotten out of hand.

"Is he going to be alright?" Snow looked curiously at the obviously drunk man.

_I think Steven likes his cold beers a little too much._

"Just let him be, he'll wake up sooner or later." Rand took another deep gulp out of his drink.

"Wonder why the Commander tells us to hold it on the beer when the person he should be most worried about is actually Steven?" Sky also drank another bottle.

Judging by Amodar's sleepy face and Rand and Sky's a little too cheery look Caius was sure that they weren't far behind that snoring man.

"Hey guys! Mind telling me why my boyfriend's sleeping on the floor?" Everyone turned back the other way to look at Lucy.

_If Lucy is here then where's…_

Sure enough, when Caius scanned the room he found a pair of blue eyes looking at him. A few seconds were all he had before she broke her gaze and walked by the stairs, disappearing from view.

"Hey Rand, how long did Lightning's past partner last for?" Caius asked.

"About two days." Rand replied with a cheeky grin.

Caius scoffed

_So much for 'expert' advice._

Caius pushed his seat back and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Lucy questioned at his movements.

"I'm going to get some fresh air." And with that Caius moved towards the stairwell missing Lucy's knowing smile.

* * *

><p>Lightning watched as the young girls ran across the white sand of the beach, the wind carrying the voices of laughter toward the lonely balcony that Lightning was occupying. The soft moonlight caressed her beautiful features as she rested her arms on the dull metal railings.<p>

She watched as the girls revelled in the company of each other and the presence of their supposed 'soul mates'.

_If things happened different it might have been me there without a care in the world._

At this thought a feeling of horror infected her mind. She noticed how frail they looked, how helpless. They were forced to rely on those around them and cower in other's shadows. Was that truly the life that she wanted? Still her mind is filled with the possibility of what might have been. She would have had parents and adult guidance, she would have had friends, she would have experience first love but they were all 'ifs'.

No, she had changed that day, the day when she cast aside her old life and adopted the life and name of Lightning. Lightning, lost and wanders around aimlessly until they find a place to strike but strikes hard and fast when they do so. Serah was her goal. She had promised their parents to look after her and that is what she will do, til her last breath if she needed to.

Actually, in fact, she felt sorry for the girls. They didn't truly understand their purpose in life, not until it is pushed into their faces. Even then they would go and ask others to solve the problem for them. But there was never anyone for Lightning to rely on. It was just her and Serah making their way in the world and trying to make the most out of what they had.

Still she was content. She wouldn't have had it any other way. For better or for worse this is what her life turned out to be. Lightning took a deep breath of the fresh ocean air and a small rare smile appeared, increasing her beauty ten-fold. This was her life.

"So, the warrior goddess can smile after all and a lovely one at that."

Lightning whipped around, her complemented smile vanishing instantly, as she watched Caius move onto the once lonely balcony. With the disappearance of the smile however came a rapidly beating heart.

_Why? Why does my body always go hay wire around him?_

Confused with how to deal with her problem Lightning just did what she was most comfortable with and so Caius received a healthy dose of a familiar glare.

"What do you want?" Lightning didn't seem inclined to be any friendlier.

"I can't even talk to my partner without being glared at? What is the world coming to?" Caius joined Lightning, leaning against the metal railings.

"We may officially be partners but don't even think that I'll really see you as one." Lightning scowled.

"And since we're officially partners and I have no other choice I'm just going to try my best to make this work," At the end of this Caius showed his trademark smirk, "Or make it as painless as possible."

"Well unfortunately for you I have no interest in trying to make this work. The sooner you leave the better." Lightning wasn't going to pull any punches.

_The sooner you leave the faster I'll get over this… thing._

Unluckily for her Caius wasn't going anywhere.

"I think I'll be sticking around for a while longer, you're just too interesting to ignore."

Lightning took a step towards Caius, "Then I suggest you spend less time preoccupied with me more time learning to stay out of my personal space."

"How could I? It's like you're a magnet, pulling me toward you. Sometimes it feels like we've met before." Caius looked deep into Lightning's eyes.

That gaze sent shivers down her spine and increased the frantic beating of her heart.

_I don't know why but it feels like I've met him before too. It's like a ghost in the back of my mind, there but untouchable, out of reach… Argh! He's messing with me again._

Lightning took another step towards her partner while keeping eye contact, admiring every detail on his face. For some unknown reason she had the overwhelming urge to touch him, an urge that felt natural, an urge that she hurriedly squashed down.

"Are you done staring?" Once again his smirk took the stage, "I know I'm probably the best looking guy you've seen but can you do it a little more discretely?" He joked.

Lightning took it a little more seriously though.

Taking a few hasty steps backwards she shook her head, "I-I wasn't staring."

Caius put on a face of mock surprise, "Is this possible? Are you actually flustered?"

His friendly jeering was abruptly ended by a not-so-friendly fist that was bee-lining for his face.

Bringing his hand up he quickly blocked the blow with the palm of his hand as it landed with a solid smack. He then grabbed her wrist lest another fist came in his direction. This was turning out to be a replay of that morning.

"No need to get violent, it's perfectly natural to be flustered around a good looking guy like me." Lightning growled in frustration as she jerked her arm out of his grip before turning around and leaving the balcony without a word, slamming the poor doors so hard that Caius swore they were going to crack down the middle.

As she descended down the steps many thoughts ran through her mind, the one most apparent was.

_I hate him, I really hate him. _

Lightning strode through the bar with a look a fury on her face. The other members of the Corp who were attending the party pretty much ran away while the other patrons seemed very reluctant to have anything to do with the women heading towards the table that her unit members were at.

"I'm leaving, please tell Steven and Amodar that." Lightning told the people at the table which included the mischievous duo and, to her immense displeasure, the dumb witted man mountain plus a red headed one that looked just as dumb.

"What's the hurry, the party has just sta-" Rand's mouth closed immediately when he saw the look on Lightning's face. The other occupants of the table didn't seem very motivated to talk at the specific moment either.

"Yes, we'll tell them." Rand whisper meekly.

They watched as Lightning turned sharply and, to their great relief, storm out the front door.

"Is she always like that?" Snow's hand shook as he let out the breath he was holding.

"She's usually scary but that's the first time I've seen her that pissed." Sky took a large swig of his molten courage to make up for what he lost in the last minute.

"And lets pray it's the last." Rand put his hand up to order more drinks. They needed it after that.

"By the maker, you have to deal with that every day? And I thought Lebreau was bad." Gadot looked at the two in awe.

"Yup, every single day." They both sighed at their lives.

It was at that moment that Lucy jumped on them, slapping a hand on each man's shoulder.

They both jerked in shock then breathed another sigh of relief when they realise it was Lucy.

"What's the matter, thought I was Lightning?" Lucy beamed.

They nodded, not ashamed to admit their fear of the pink-haired demon.

"I saw her too. !#$%^&* she looked pissed. Do you think Caius was the cause of it?" Lucy asked.

"If he was I don't think they'll be enough left of him for a burial." Rand muttered.

Lucy slapped Rand on the head, "Don't be so gloomy, you know Caius can handle Lightning if you were paying any attention to their spar today."

Lucy then peered at the ceiling, "On the subject of Caius, I wonder what he's doing up there."

* * *

><p>Caius rubbed the hand he caught Lightning's fist with. He winced as he touched the sore flesh.<p>

_She has the beauty of a model and the strength of a heavy weight boxer. Do not be fooled by her looks._

He let his arm drop to his side as he fell back onto the railing with a huff. His eyes lingered on the timber doors.

Resting his head back he gazed into the starry sky as he listened to the noises that filled the silence of the night. As he listened to the laughter of the young teens on the beach, the dull buzz of conversation from the bar and a faint sound of a motorcycle driving away he slowly recalled what had happened.

He had followed Lightning onto the balcony and when he arrived he was met with a breathtaking sight.

He watched as the moonlight caressed her face with its soft light, highlighting her beautiful features. Her fine pink hair flowed gently in the light breeze as it framed a small smile that graced her face, a smile that made her beauty look like the radiant sun. He also had to admit that she knew how to dress. Her form fitting clothes showed off her feminine curves quite well. It was a wonder that she hadn't made every male fall head over heels for her. Actually, scratch that, she probably has. Nothing could ever compare to that smile though. It was a wonder how a slight upwards turn of her lips could make her look that much more…perfect.

_She really should smile more often._

However, during this awe inspiring moment, there was a nagging feeling in his mind. A feeling that seemed to suggest that he had seen this before even though he knew it was impossible.

He had meant it when he said that he felt like they had met before. He just didn't understand how. With this feeling also came a familiarity with the person in front of him, an attachment. It was like he had known her for months, years even when in truth they had only met today. The feeling was so strong that he acted like he actually knew her for years, mocking her, joking around, talking about things that you wouldn't normally talk about with a complete stranger. That's what she was, no matter what he thought, she was a complete stranger.

_And after today, a stranger that wouldn't want anything to do with me._

Caius stood up and let out a sigh of disappointment.

_Well, nothing I can do about it now. I screwed up. Simple as that_.

Caius looked at the stunning beaches one last time before gently pushing the door open. They couldn't withstand much more punishment after what Lightning put them through.

His last thoughts before the door closed gently behind him was.

_Life just got that much more interesting. _


	5. A Lively Neighbourhood

**Hey Everyone!**

**I know its been awhile since I've last updated but was kind of busy the past few weeks. Had yearly exams and stuff like that but it's the holidays now. *yay***

**I've been sitting on a word count of like 3000 until the past week when I went on a writing craze. But I'm sure you don't care about that.**

**Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. **

**alex: Kain probably won't pop up but I might give Hope some thought but as I've mentioned I'm not that keen on HopexLight**

**ClaireAveriaFarron: You're doing great as usual. I haven't had time to make your changes in the last chapter but I'll get to that right away. ^_^**

**captainmont: I greatly appreciate your advice and I was wondering if you could provide examples. e.g what paragraphs did you think could have been written better. Thanks again.**

**Anyways, this chapter lightly touches upon the main plot but the rest is just me writing random stuff. You might like it or find it boring but thanks for reading anyways. **

**BTW I was wondering which chapter did you guys like the best so far. Just wanted to know. ^0^**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Yea, you guys should know I don't own anything.  
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><p><strong>A Lively Neighbourhood<strong>

_The cool morning air rushed through his hair, letting it flutter gently behind him. He watched as the golden sun rose and beat back the darkness of the night, the view only marred by the wispy smoke that billowed from the chimneys of the little cottages that dotted the hillside. A sea of green spread out around him in all directions, kissed by the sun's golden light. He sat on the dew riddled grass letting the soft cries of birds lull him into a trance as he ran his hand through the lush grass around him enjoying the sensations it brought. It was the dawn of a new day._

"_Caius!"_

Caius bolted up straight panting and gasping for air. Leaning his head back on the headboard he let out a groan before brushing his blankets to the ground as he pushed off his simple bed, shivering from the cold sweat that drenched his body.

Grabbing a glass from the almost empty rack he patiently waited for his glass to fill to the brim with clear liquid before gulping it down unceremoniously. Slamming the glass down Caius continued his uneasy breathing as he leaned on the table, taking shallow breaths of the cold air. His frame shook with every breath as he closed his eyes hoping it would drive away the images in his head but to no avail.

_It's a dream… just a dream._

At least that's what he wanted to be. He just couldn't accept that it was his memories, his past. A past came back to haunt him again and again. He remembered that day like it was yesterday, crystal clear in his mind with every horror carving a fresh wound in his heart. It might have appeared innocent and harmless but Caius knew what came afterwards. It was the day that _it_ happened, the day his life was twisted mercilessly. But he refused to let his dark past consume him, drag him down into the black abyss. He would try to forget it, start afresh.

Caius chuckled softly, a dry sound that was devoid of humour.

_Then what am I doing here?_

Letting go of the glass, which he had cracked unknowingly during his moment of reflection, he crossed his small room almost stumbling over a small table in the dim light. Reaching out he grabbed the dusty curtains labelled with Guardian Corp symbol. Coughing at the dust he pulled back the curtains to reveal a breathtaking view of the city. Light filtered through the window beating back the darkness in the room as well as in his heart. Caius's breathing slowly returned to normal as he watched the sun rise bringing its golden rays with it as it shone upon the city.

_A new day, a new life. _

He watched as the city burst into action with the rising sun. Thinking it was about time he got ready for the day himself he pushed aside his darker thoughts into the back of his mind and made his way into the bathroom to take care of his daily hygiene.

After a quick shower he opened the bathroom door wrapped in a white towel as he looked over the room he had. It was plain looking and sparsely decorated with basic furniture but it was bearable.

_Not too shabby but… I want a house._

Caius smiled at the thought, a large house which he could call his own and a place where he would return to every night.

Caius walked to the old closet that had just been recently dusted, grabbed a black tee and pulled it over his head. The rest of the uniform followed soon after. Finished with that he grabbed his usual headband and tied it around his forehead.

Pressing the door button, he emerged from his room and looked down the hallway to see…. no one.

_I guess everyone has their own houses. _

At that moment a door slid open and Lucy walked out into the brightly lit hallway.

_Maybe not everyone._

Seeing him she waved in greeting with a cheery smile on her face. She tied her wavy light brown hair into a pony tail as she closed the distance between them. Gone was the revealing attire she wore yesterday, instead it was replace with her immaculate uniform.

"Morning, is anyone else awake yet?" Caius took a quick peek down the still empty hallway.

"Well Steven's up and I have no idea how after his stunt yesterday but Rand and Sky are reaping the benefits of alcohol abuse, the hangover. You're the only male in this unit who was sensible enough not to get drunk."

_Almost did. You won't believe how badly Rand and Sky tried to pester me into drinking just a 'few' extra bottles. Snow and Gadot weren't any better either. _

Lucy twirled around to the nearest elevator. "Are you going to grab some chow?"

Caius grinned, "I've always got time for food." He followed Lucy into the shining elevator as the sun began to stream through its glass walls.

Lucy rolled her eyes at his answer, "A man's heart is ruled through his stomach."

"True enough. Whoever said that knew men pretty well." Caius leaned against the glass walls, his figure casting a shadow over the smaller lady in front of him.

"Sooooooooo…" started Lucy as she turned towards Caius, her pony tail swinging behind her.

"So what?"

"So how are things going with Lightning? Last time I saw her she didn't look overjoyed at your latest face to face encounter."

_More like fist to fist._

"We're doing OK, she's warming up to me… I think." Caius ran his hand through his long purple hair.

"Define well?" Lucy had a mischievous grin planted on her face.

"Well means that she hasn't tried kill me again. Although we did come close." Caius matched Lucy's grin with a cocky one of his own.

Lucy let out a small chuckle, "What exactly happened up there yesterday?"

"She kissed me." Caius joked. He just didn't know Lightning well enough to recognize how seriously people took her.

Lucy's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Wa-What really!" she cried out.

Caius swore she was going to have a heart attack and would have taken a step back if a glass wall wasn't in his way. "Woah, what's with the reaction? I was joking, she wouldn't have done that."

_Although I kinda wished she would… Really should keep that to myself._

"If you say so." Lucy didn't seem very convinced. It was then Caius realised his mistake.

_I don't think Lightning is exactly a joking matter around here. I can already see the rumours flying around and I don't even want to think about what would happen if Lightning hears about this._

"Speaking of her, where is she exactly?" Caius asked curiously wanting to get a heads up on whether he'll have to brave the pink demon in the morning and more importantly how much time he would have to escape before Lucy told Lightning about his little joke.

"Lightning? She's got her own house. She should be here sometime soon though. It all depends on how many alarm clocks she set up." Caius sent a confused look at Lucy's odd statement.

"Don't worry, you'll understand when you get to know Lightning a little better."

Caius shrugged at that. He just hoped that it meant he had plenty of time.

The elevator picked that moment to open into a busy mess hall which held people having their morning meal. It was quite loud too. It was to be expected too, soldiers were a rowdy lot.

"You hungry?" Lucy asked again.

_Do you even need to ask?_

Caius put on an eager smile, "Lead the way."

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><p>There was a figure, buried in blankets and curled up happily in a calm and peaceful atmosphere broken only by the rhythm of soft breathing. The atmosphere was aided by the melody of gentle bird calls that merged with the faint sounds of the ocean lapping at the beach's shore. The figure's slumber was assisted by the incredibly plush bed which was matched with an equally comfortable pillow. She wrapped her velvety blankets tighter around her, enjoying its warmth and the sensations it brought when it caressed her bare skin. She was content, serene… until her moment of tranquillity was interrupted by incessant beeping.<p>

Growling Lightning slammed her hand onto the despised alarm almost breaking it in the process.

_Creations of Chaos they are. Evil things. _

Falling back onto the soft bed Lightning stared at the pale ceiling lost in that place between sleep and consciousness. Her vision slowly blurred and her pale eyelids slowly slid over azure orbs as sleep gradually reclaimed her… only to snap wide open again instantly. She was once again woken by the considerably irritating beeping of yet another alarm. This one was further away and thankfully out of her reach as if it was anywhere near Lightning it would have been a pile of broken glass and gears by now.

Snarling in frustration once again Lightning threw off her blankets and shivered in the cold morning air as she was clad in the bare minimum. Quickly moving across the room she found the clock and in a very un-lady like way not-so-gently slapped it, stopping the god-awful beeping with a satisfying sound as her hand made contact.

Rubbing her tired eyes she yawned as a she heard a soft knock. Lightning was not a morning person.

"Claire, if you're done murdering your alarm clocks then breakfast is ready." Serah's voice came from the other side of the wooden door.

Walking to her small wardrobe Lightning replied, "Sure thing, I'll be there in a second."

Her wardrobe opened with a creak. It was quite old but Lightning saw little need to replace it. The only things she spent money on with glee were on her velocycle, Serah and of course her bed. Maybe little more on the bed if the grand oversized king-sized bed fitted with luxurious accessories were anything to go by. Fishing around she managed to find her uniform from the mess that was Lightning's wardrobe.

"Alright then." Serah moved away from the door and towards the kitchen where they normally had breakfast.

A few minutes later, having performed her morning tasks, Lightning opened the door to see Serah dressed in her school uniform trying to flip pancakes… and failing miserably.

Serah had been spoilt silly, Lightning had done everything for her and cooking had been one of her main tasks. However at some point Serah decided that she wanted to be of more use and pleaded Lightning to teach her how to cook. She eventually relented unable to resist her sister unbearable puppy dog eyes so now Serah was gradually learning the art of food.

…_Gradually._

Walking up to the clean kitchen filled with sparkling pots and pans Lightning's quick reflexes saved a pancake from giving the floor a warm hug as it flew towards her. The pancake had come from one of the said sparkling pan which was being held by Serah right now.

"Sorry! I'll never get the hang of this." Serah muttered dejectedly, a cute pout on her face.

Letting the pancake fall onto a plate that held similarly sloppily made ones, Lightning grabbed the pan from Serah. She poured in the mixture and when it was ready, flipped the pancake gracefully into the air.

"Don't use too much force, do it gently." Lightning lectured as she performed another flip.

Serah brought her hand to her mouth as she snickered, "That's rich coming from you. You aren't exactly renowned for doing things gently."

"Are you insulting the person who's trying to teach you how to cook?" Lightning smiled and let the pancake slide onto the empty plate before passing the pan to her merry sister. "You give it a try."

Lightning then moved to one of the stool around the kitchen counter, grabbing some syrup from the pristine stainless steel fridge along the way.

"I will get this right." Lightning looked up to see an adorable look of determination on Serah's face.

_Guess it runs in the family._

"Alright" Serah took a deep breath and jerked her pan sharply. The pancake flew up into the air… and into the bottom of the cupboard high above the stove... then dropped back into the pan.

Serah turned around and beamed, "Does that count?"

Lightning let a chuckle, her sister's antics never ceased to amuse her. "Unfortunately no. Forget it, just come and eat. You've got to get to school soon."

Serah made her way to the stool next to Lightning and jumped on. "One day I'll be a really good cook, just you wait."

"And when you are let me know so that I know that your creations would be edible." Lightning grinned at the annoyed look she received from her baby sister.

"Claire! You're so mean. I'm not that bad." Serah whined fiddling with her fork.

"Don't worry you're not that bad," Lightning took a bite out of her pancake, "I mean this pancake is edible... surprisingly."

Serah gave Lightning a dark look, "It's pre-made from a store."

"Oh, so that's why it tastes a lot better than the pancakes you usually make." Lightning took another bite. "Haven't had a decent pancake in a while." She just couldn't resist teasing Serah just a little more. Blame it on sibling rivalry.

"Meanie!" Suddenly a cheeky look appeared on Serah's face, a look that made Lightning uneasy. "If you get to make fun of me then I get to make fun of you."

Lightning raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"Yup, so tell me why you came home yesterday blushing and muttering 'Stupid partners'?"

Lightning's face instantly turned a shade of red. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Who is this partner exactly?" Serah seemed to be enjoying this… immensely.

_When did I get a devil for a sister? _

"Nobody, nobody at all. Just a new guy." Lightning started to gain control over her emotions but Serah refused to leave it at that.

"A guy… I knew it!"

Lightning looked warily at her sister. "You knew what?"

"You've fallen for him haven't you?"

Lightning's blush took the stage once again.

"What! No! It's not like that! I-I-I… isn't it about time you got to school?" Lightning said, trying to find any way to escape from this awkward conversation. She was just about to die of embarrassment. It's not every day that you get interrogated about your love life, or lack of, by your little sister. She had already gone through enough with Lucy the previous day.

Serah glanced at the clock, "Oh, you're right." Scoffing down her breakfast she raced off into her room and then quickly reappeared with a school bag in her hand.

"I'm off," She opened the front door before looking at Lightning. "You're going to tell me more about your partner when I get back and I really want to meet him too, OK? Bye!"

Lightning stared at the door stunned by the young schoolgirl's boldness as it swung shut behind her.

_No way in hell are you going to meet _him_. Not if I have any say about it._

Lightning dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter. With a groan she buried her face in her hands. Serah had managed to bring up a topic that she just didn't want to think about. She thought that she would have been able to set him aside in her own house but Caius still found a way to invade her mind.

_I hate you Caius, I really do. _

For some reason she didn't feel like going to work that day which was very un-Lightningish. Normally she would jump at any chance to slave away at her occupation but that didn't seem to be the case today. It was a bit daunting to have to meet with Caius once again, at least until she got her emotions under control. She still couldn't believe what had happened last night. She remembered the frantic pounding of her heart, her racing blood and her rash actions that were due to her not knowing how else to react. Caius just messed with her so much that she wondered if she was really herself anymore. The worst thing was that she didn't even know what these emotions meant. They were so confusing…foreign.

Then there was Caius himself. Did he have the same feeling or was he just fooling around with her? His attractive looks meant that he was possibly a schooled playboy.

_Oh, he's _attractive _now is he?_

Why was he so puzzling… and irritating. Lightning clenched her hands. How dare he make fun of her?

Suddenly the front door swung open again, thankfully breaking her train of thought, and Serah walked back in. "Oh hey, Claire, our neighbour told me to let you know that they're moving out and selling their house today."

Lightning glanced up questioningly, "You came back just to tell me that? He's been trying to move out for the past year. He could have told me himself. Now you're probably going to be late."

Serah tilted her head, "Uhh, hello? Haven't you realised that he's kind of scared of you? I mean you haven't exactly been the best neighbour."

Lightning scoffed, "And he hasn't exactly been the most interesting one either. Anyways, if you wait any longer you're definitely going to be late."

She took one look at the clock before dashing towards the door, "See ya Sis." But Serah being Serah she stopped yet again and turned around. "Oh, and I'll be going shopping with friends later today. Just letting you know, bye." Serah pushed the door open and ran out.

_Guess it's about time I went as well… I'll handle whatever Caius throws at me._

Groaning Lightning slid off her stool and walked to the door. Grabbing her gunblade that was hanging from a hook near the front door she clipped it in its usual position before walking out. Locking the door behind her she dropped her keys into her pouch and moved towards her velocycle giving the sign advertising her neighbours house for sale little notice.

_I don't really care who lives there anyways._

Retrieving her key from her leg pouch she stuck it into the ignition and grinned childishly at the low growl of her engine. Swinging her leg over she settled her herself comfortably as she tested the throttle. With another louder roar the red velocycle raced off and vanished from sight as it drifted around the street corner.

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><p>Caius took a large bite out of his meal enjoying the flavours that were wreaking havoc in his mouth. The food here tasted absolutely exquisite. Forget that it was an army base, the meals the cooks came up with were bordering on sensational.<p>

"Have you heard about the explosion in the western part of the city?" Steven asked from his seat opposite Caius. A Caius that was a little too engrossed with his meal to answer mundane question like that.

"I take that you like the food?" Steven commented, holding a small cup of coffee in his hand.

Now this was a question worth answering. However with his mouth full Caius could only nod in agreement.

"The food's not bad really." Lucy, who had picked a seat next to Steven, bit into an apple with a crunch. In front of her was a plate heaped with an assortment of fruits.

Swallowing Caius spoke, "Everything here is better than Palumpolum. The view is great, the accommodations are far better and don't even get me started on the food. Seriously, Palumpolum really disregards its military."

"So what exactly are you planning to do in this magnificent city? You have a few days off, might as well make use of it." Steven took a small sip of his steaming hot liquid energy.

"Actually I'm planning to buy a house around here. Any areas you guys would recommend?" Caius picked up a sandwich and started to chew it slowly.

"The beachside areas of Costal Bodhum make great places to stay. Pity they're pretty expensive though, but that's my recommendation if you can afford it." Lucy advised as she took another bite out of her apple.

"I might check it out. Any other good places?" Caius thought about his assets. It wasn't outstanding but should be enough to buy a small comfortable house with cash to spare.

"There are cheaper places but not necessarily nice." Steven said grabbing Lucy's cup of coffee.

"Hey!" Lucy objected trying to grab her cup back but she missed.

"It's a women's job to provide for her man." Steven gave her a wink.

"It would help if you weren't so lazy. Go get yourself another one and keep your hands off mine." Lucy reached out and retrieved her cup from the thief. Steven let out a low chuckle.

Caius watched their little lover's spat and smiled, the atmosphere here was friendly and relaxing. There was nothing to bother him… for now. Finishing his sandwich he washed it down with his cup of coffee quickly lest it somehow 'disappear'. With nothing left to eat he kind of felt disappointed that his meal was over.

Steven's and Lucy's friendly bickering was halted when Sky stumbled up to them. Falling onto a seat he let out a loud groan.

"Maker, my head. How did I even manage to make it over here?" Sky gave the lively Steven a sideways glance. "For that matter how are you even conscious? Last time I saw you yesterday you were pretty much drooling on the ground."

"Yea, well I recover pretty quickly from alcohol. I'm not complaining." Steven smiled as he ruffled Sky's hair.

Sky moaned in agony at the constant shaking. It only helped increase the excessive pounding in his head.

"Stop it! You're doing that on purpose." Sky complained trying to push away the offending hand.

"Course I am." Steven chortled, he enjoyed tormenting Sky greatly.

"Stop it Steven, you not supposed to bully your underlings." Lucy chided as she looked on with a disapproving frown.

"Then what's the point of being a ranking officer?" Steven shot back ruffling Sky's blond hair once again to emphasize his point.

"I give up. Man, I'm thirsty." Sky groggily rubbed his throat.

His eyes scanned the table and Sky reached out and grabbed the nearest and only drink on the table which coincidently turned out to be Lucy's coffee.

"Hey! You can't take th-" Lucy's argument died down when Sky downed the cup in one go. "What's with everyone and my coffee? The coffee _I _made so _I_ could drink it."

"Just for the record, I didn't try to steal it." Caius added in, enjoying the light atmosphere greatly.

"But I know you were eying it. Don't deny it." Lucy green eyes sparkled with mirth. She wasn't truly annoyed, she loved the ruckus they made as much as they loved making it.

"Don't worry. I won't go near your coffee." Caius pushed his chair back into a more comfortable position. "Although Sky does seem to be attracted to your food."

Lucy slapped a sneaking hand away just in time as it was getting dangerously close to her plate. "Don't even think about starting with my stuff. Coffee I can accept but this is mine."

"But I'm hungry. That's a good reason right?" Sky rested his head in his arms, "Spare some pity for the hungover man."

"You reap what you sow." Lucy pushed another hand away from her plate, Steven's this time.

"And you aren't hungover and you've already ate so you're not going anywhere near me." Lucy gave Steven a hard glare but Sky used this as a distraction, grabbing a bundle of grapes off Lucy's plate.

"Yea well, I'm not really interested with precious fruits. What I'm really interested in is that cute face of yours when you get annoyed." Lucy's face flushed a slight tinge of pink at Steven bold comment.

Lucy made a defensive barrier around her plate with her arms. "You know what, you deserve to suffer. I wish you were moaning and groaning like Sky is."

"No one deserves to endure this horrible feeling. I hate hangovers." Rand dropped into a seat next to his partner. "Hey, a banana!"

Reaching in Rand completely bypassed Lucy's barrier and grabbed the yellow fruit before jerking back. Realising his error Rand closed his eyes and groaned, "Moving… too… quickly."

Sighing, Lucy gave up and pushed her plate into the middle of the table, "You know what? Take it, just take it all."

Caius barked out a laugh, "Two extremely hungry men against one lone woman. Slightly unfair don't you think? But since you so generously offered, won't mind if I do." Looking through Lucy's selection of fruits he selected a juicy orange.

"When there's food everything's fair game." Rand mumbled around his banana. The fruit making it hard to hear what the younger member of the Unit had to say.

"When's Lightning going to arrive?" Caius asked as he chewed on the orange, peels littering the already messy table.

"We're hoping not anytime soon. She'll give us hell for being hungover and not being at the top of our game." Sky moaned, "Then she'll give us extra training."

"And extra training is not good. Especially when Lightning is leading." Rand didn't have a good history with Lightning.

_Is Lightning really that bad?_

"Anyways, shouldn't you be going Caius? You never know how long finding a house might take," Caius looked up at Steven.

"You think? Maybe I should." Pushing back his chair, its feet scraping along the ground, Caius stood up.

"I'll see you guys around." With a wave of his hand Caius walked off towards the elevator.

"Don't forget to invite us over when you do find a house." Lucy asked cheerfully her eyes gleaming with excitement already.

_I don't think my house would be able to withstand you guys but then what are friends for?_

"Sure." With that Caius left his teammates to bicker over Lucy's plate of fruit.

Moving into the elevator Caius took advantage over the view it gave him.

Caius looked out at the beaches of Bodhum, at the small houses that lined the crystal waters.

_I really want a house there._

Caius waited patiently as the elevator slowly descended towards the parking lot. During this time he thought about the only missing member of the Unit.

_Lightning… I wonder where she is? Knowing her the moment I see her again she's going to aim a punch at my face. Well Lightning will be Lightning._

Smiling Caius walked out of the elevator and across the concrete of the parking lot towards his pride and joy. Flipping open his cycle's storage compartment he retrieved his black helmet and placed it over his head, covering his purple hair. With a screech he sped into the city unknowingly observed by a pair of blue eyes.

Lightning sat on her tilted cycle as she happily watched Caius disappear around the corner.

"At least I don't have to deal with him now."

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><p><em>At the end of the day and this is what I get… Guess I should be thankful.<em>

Caius looked up from the picture of a house on a flyer to the real deal. He had almost given up in despair when he saw the prices on the houses in Costal Bodhum. He almost gave up there and then if not for the flyer he held in his hand.

Caius glanced at the price again.

_Can a house really be this cheap?_

Sure enough this house was cheap, outrageously even but he wasn't going to complain. Right now the only problems he saw was the paint peeling away to reveal the murky brown brinks underneath. Otherwise it looked perfectly fine. If they were willing to throw a house away he wouldn't be shy to accept.

Caius scrunched up the flyer in his hand, "Alright".

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><p>After an hour, a lot of stress and a severe depletion in Caius's assets he stood on the house's front entrance as he watched the previous owners drive away.<p>

_They seemed pretty happy to be rid of this house._

He moved his eye away from the car disappearing in the distance and instead marvelled at the beaches that were pretty much on his doorstep. The soft sound of the waves crashing against white sand sang like music to his ears. Turning around he looked at his new house. It wasn't really small nor was it humongous either but it was adequate. The place was cleaned up nicely, sparkling even. It was like they were trying their hardest to make it sell. The kitchen had a gleam to it and the lounge looked pristine. The owners had even thrown in basic accessories, a fridge, a couch, a bed and even a small TV. Everything was so unreal it was bordering on the suspicious. However a thorough inspection made sure that the house was in perfect condition. The only thing that bothered him was something that the previous owners had said.

_What did they mean about scary neighbours?_

Shrugging Caius twirled his house keys in his hands as he walked along the stony footpath.

_How bad could these neighbours be? If I can put up with Lightning then they shouldn't be a worry. _

At that exact moment a tuff of hair appeared over the hedges that separated the two houses. What was important and caused his heart to leap was the colour of the hair. It was pink, a very familiar shade of pink.

_N-No way, it can't be. How many pink haired girls are there in this city?_

Caius wasn't sure whether he hoped it was a familiar face when he rushed around the corner to come face to face with… an innocent looking young girl that, to his immense relief (or disappointment), wasn't Lightning. Although a closer inspection showed that the girl looked a lot like his fellow soldier. She was dressed in a short blue top that was partially covered by a white jacket with a fluffy collar. Slung over her shoulder was a small, pinkish handbag that rested next to her denim mini skirt.

What instantly told him that he wasn't looking at Lightning aside from the _girly_ clothing was the ear-piecing shriek that startled Caius out of his observations.

_Definitely not Lightning, she would never scream like that. _

"Calm down, I didn't mean to scare you." Caius approached the frightened girl cautiously, making soothing gestures in hope of calming her down.

"W-Who are you?" She didn't seem to be very calm.

"Name's Caius, I just moved into the house there." Caius pointed at his brand new house, one that he was quite proud of.

The girl's eyes widened and Caius took another step back ready for another outburst. One came but wasn't exactly what Caius expected, "Really! New neighbours! Nice to meet you. Oh love the velocycle too." She gave him a cheery smile,

_Whoa, attitude change much?_

Caius returned the smile carefully, "Then I can see you have great taste in cycles." He wasn't going to chance setting her off again.

"Not really, it's just that my sister loves her velocycles and I guess it's rubbed off on me." She then realized something, "Oh sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Serah and if you don't mind me asking, why were you staring at me? Interested?" She looked at him cutely, posing as if she was modelling.

_Direct too?_

Caius rubbed the back of his head, "I just thought you were someone I knew."

"Hmm, maybe you know my Claire, my sister." She responded as she gave him a good look.

"Claire? Doesn't ring a bell. Maybe not."

"That's too bad. Anyways, it was nice to meet you but I've got to go. I hope we can chat again sometime." Serah began to walk off, her handbag bouncing behind her.

"Likewise." Caius watched as she gave him a wave before walking around the corner.

_She really did look like Lightning. But who's Claire?_

Stretching, Caius walked back over to his own house.

_Neighbours seem friendly enough. How could anyone be scared of a cute girl like that? _

He was just about to enter his new house when he remembered he had to register the house back at Base.

_Why can't anything be simple?_

Locking the front door with his new keys and dropping it into his belt pouch Caius walked over to his complemented cycle which he quickly started. Before he knew it he lost himself in the thrill of speed and in no time at all found himself at the parking lot. Entering the elevator he waited as the door closed and the lift began to ascend, a small thought occurring to him on his way up.

_Sasha…_

Caius groaned at the thought of the amazingly bold and flirty receptionist. He was right on the mark when the steel doors opened into a spacious room occupied by a receptionist with a fondness for dresses with plunging necklines. Sasha face broke in a smile when she noticed the striking man leaving the elevator with a regretful look on his face. Caius was already missing the safety and security of the elevator.

Caius didn't seem as pleased as Sasha seemed to be as the instant she opened her mouth Caius abruptly cut her off.

"Please Sasha, no flirting. Just making that clear." Caius was strongly against having to deal with this problem again.

Sasha just scoffed, "Taking all the fun out of life aren't you." Putting on a fake disappointed look she got to the matter on hand, "What issue of upmost importance did you bring to bother me with today?" True enough Sasha's desk was already overflowing with scattered sheets of paper which Caius assumed were of importance.

"Just letting you register my new address."

Sasha's dejected look was replaced with one of interest, "You got a new place?" A cheeky smile appeared. "Are you planning to invite me over?"

"Sasha…" Caius's glare reminded Sasha of his simple request, a request that was rapidly fading from her mind.

Sighing Sasha turned to the computer and started tapping away at the keys, "What else is a woman supposed to do besides flirting?"

"You must be pretty desperate if you're asking me." Caius gave Sasha a dry smile.

Sasha glanced at the computer screen once more, "The process is actually really simple. All I need is your address and name and we're done. Like I said, simple."

As asked Caius provided his address and his name just in case Sasha forgot, "Anything else?"

"Nope, it's my job now. You can run off and play with your new partner." Sasha resumed her typing, ignoring the man in front of her.

Caius felt the blissful feeling of relief inside, being ignored meant no flirting and it was worth the little hit to his ego.

Giving his thanks Caius realized there was nothing left to do so he headed back towards the elevator leaving Sasha to her work.

As the elevator closed behind the purple haired man Sasha glanced up just to see it slam shut. Looking between the elevator and her screen she muttered softly to no one in particular.

"It's going to be a lively neighbourhood."

On her screen was a name for the registered occupant of an address which neighboured Caius's. Lightning Farron.

* * *

><p><em><span>The next day<span>_

After almost utterly decimating two alarm clocks with her gunblade Lightning found herself yawning into her hand as she waited for Serah to finish cooking the omelettes they were supposed to have for breakfast. She desperately hoped that Serah could make something that was at least edible and her growling stomach appeared to agree with her.

Resting her head on the table she was just about to fall asleep again when Serah, with a triumphant grin, dumped her share of the omelets on her plate. Perking up at the aroma of cooked eggs Lightning scrutinized the omelet carefully for any 'fatal' flaws.

No revolting smell, check.

Not a burnt black blob, check.

No unbelievably sharp eggshells, check.

Lightning was glad that the omelet actually looked like something that was safe to put in your mouth. Picking up her utensils she cut a small piece off and lifted it up.

"What's in it?" Lightning asked as she inspected it from a closer viewpoint eying the different coloured pieces that dotted the omelet.

"Umm, mushrooms, onions, some bacon and a little bit of tomato." Serah scratched her head, "I think that's it besides eggs obviously."

"Sounds alright," Lightning's stomach couldn't wait for something to devour as she brought a piece of the omelet towards her mouth when all of a sudden Serah added one incy-wincy teeny-tiny detail.

"Oh that's right, I also put a lot of those little red things. They're capsicums… I think."

Lightning swiftly put her omelet down barely saving her mouth from a world of hurt. Her close call had quenched her appetite instantly.

Serah looked hurt at Lightning's abrupt movements, "What's wrong now?"

"If you value your tongue I suggest you keep away from that foul creation." Lightning motioned to the omelet on her plate.

Serah glanced downwards at her own plate which held what looked like a perfectly good meal. Any normal person would have eaten it but Serah wasn't blind to the fact that her standard of cooking was quite low. Taking no chances she pushed the plate away, a decision that she would be grateful that she made later on.

Pouting Serah decided to change the subject from her lower than average cooking skills.

"Did you know a new neighbour moved in yesterday? He actually frightened me when he popped around the corner."

Lightning had seen the sold sign when she had arrived back home. Like she did last morning she had ignored it.

"It's a guy by the way, he's actually quite cute."

Lightning nodded letting the mindless babble flow in one ear and out the other.

"Also he might know you. He said that I looked like someone he knew. Do you think he was talking about you?"

Lightning shrugged as she absentmindedly listened to her sister's idle chatter. Instead Lightning thoughts drifted to what the day might bring and therefore a purpled haired and rather attractive man managed to squirm his way into her thoughts… again.

Yesterday was quite a pleasant day. A day that was relatively free of worrying whether a man was suddenly going to jump in and muck up your emotions to the point where you didn't even know what you were doing. Not that Caius actually did that to her… or was she trying to skirt around a fact that she knew was perfectly true?

…

_He really does screw with me…_

"I think it's about time we got more social with our neighbours don't you think?"

Deep in her thoughts Lightning just agreed automatically. She would think about the consequences of her actions later.

Hopefully today would be like yesterday, normal and blissfully Caius-free.

"You actually agreed with me! Then, maybe we can invite him over for breakfast. It's a great way to kick off a friendship right?"

Lightning, while slightly against the idea, decided to let Serah have her approval on her scheme. She could deal with a neighbour for a morning, Caius on the other hand…

Lightning shook her head trying to rid her brain of unwelcome thoughts. She was in her own house. This was a place where she shouldn't be plagued by bothersome worries like Caius. A place of relaxation, peace and –

"Oh, did I mention that the neighbour's name is Caius."

Lightning's heart did a backflip as she took deep breaths trying to convince herself that the name was just a coincidence.

_There has to be other guys called Caius right? It doesn't have to be _that_ Caius. Yes, it's just a coincidence, a really freaky coincidence._

"And he's also got a really interesting hair colour, purple. Not something you see every day." Serah put a finger on her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm, I think he's also got purple eyes. Unique eh Lightning? Lighting?"

Lightning was already out the door with murder in her eyes, her gunblade trailing behind her.

* * *

><p>Caius yawned as he waited for the water to boil, steam rising into the air. With a bubbling sound announcing that the water had boiled, Caius poured the piping hot water into a cup that held a little tea bag. As the aroma of fresh tea filled the air, Caius stirred then raised his cup to his lips and let out a moan of satisfaction as warmth spread throughout his body combating the frigid air.<p>

Caius was already dressed for the day and was just getting ready to go. Moving to his fridge that was generously given to him by the previous owner as was most of his stuff, Caius opened his fridge to find out that his fridge wasn't as generously stocked. Actually there was nothing at all but lovely cold air and he couldn't eat that.

Mumbling at his stupidity, Caius reminded himself to stock his fridge. It was a task that should have been done the day before but it had slipped his mind. Slamming the fridge shut as its cold air wasn't helping to warm him up, Caius finished the rest of his drink and walked to the door grabbing his gunblade off the counter along the way. He planned to have breakfast at the base since he didn't have any other choice. He was lucky he had brought some tea bags with him in the first place. Why he had brought tea bags and instead of food was beyond him.

Clipping his gunblade to his belt Caius shut the door behind him. Raising his arms above his head to stretch his stiff muscles Caius turned around too see, just like yesterday, the top of a pink head.

_Probably Serah, should get friendly with the neighbours I guess._

This time Caius walked slowly around the corner to meet the pink haired girl as he didn't want to shock her again.

However this time it was him that was on the receiving end of a shock. The shock being one, a unsheathed gunblade a paper-width away from his neck and two, the person holding the gunblade. A person with whose blue eyes were glinting dangerously as her face twisted into a deep scowl. A face that he had gotten quite familiar with.

"Lightning?"

"What are you doing here?" Lightning growled as she leaned closer, her gunblade decreasing the fine gap between its razor sharp edge and his defenceless neck.

"What I'm doing? I live here." Caius stepped back and pointed at the house behind him, "What are _you _doing here?"

"I live here," It was Lightning's turn to point out her house. "And why are you living there?"

Brushing Lightning's blade to one side just for reassurance he replied, "Why can't I live here? I bought the house. From what I know, when you buy a house you're usually allowed to live in it, right?"

"But why are _you _living next to _us_?" Lightning struck her blade into the ground with an angry thrust.

"Fate, coincidence, destiny, take your pick. What matters is I'm here." Caius turned his head towards Lightning's house just in time to see another pink haired girl duck out of sight. "I'm guessing that the other girl I saw is the one you're living with."

Lightning looked surprised at this change in topic. "Yes, my sister. Serah." Her surprise quickly turned into a frown, "Don't you go near her."

"Too late, we've already met. She thought I took her for you-" Something clicked in his mind. "Wait, Claire?"

Lightning stiffened at her name. "How do you know-" Lightning shook her head, "How many times have I told Serah not to use my name in front of other people."

"So it is your name." Caius smirked at this little titbit of information. "Why don't you want anyone knowing your name?"

"It's none of your business." Lightning gave Caius an angry look. "And don't you dare tell anyone."

"And what do I have to gain out of that?" Caius wasn't going to let this rare advantage go to waste.

"If you tell anyone I'll beat you so hard that you won't be able to stand." Lightning retrieved her blade from the ground and wielded it threateningly but Caius was ready. Grabbing the blunt edge of the blade he crept forward, matching Lightning's glare with his own.

"We've already tried the beat-each-other-up route and I'm pretty sure that it ended up in a draw so you've got nothing on me."

Lightning broke their gaze as his eyes were sending shivers down her spine just like yesterday. It wasn't often that she couldn't get what she wanted through intimidation. Half the guys in the Corp would offer their life savings if Lightning asked for it and when she got angry pretty much everyone did anything she asked them to do.

Lightning thought about what her real name meant to her. It was something she preferred to keep to herself. It was something special that she gave to those closest to her so she wasn't quite keen on having everyone know it. It was already bad enough that Caius knew.

"So what do you have to offer me? If it's something good then I might just not tell anyone." Caius laughed mentally, he was just teasing. He especially liked teasing Lightning. It was like a dance of death where one step too far could result in an excruciating demise. Well, it was an exaggeration but he didn't think he was too far off the mark. Anytime now she would have enough of his teasing and storm off… maybe throwing a punch as well.

At least that was how Caius though this would play out so he was shocked when Lightning sighed in defeat. "Anything." She whispered softly and cringed.

Caius's eyes widened. He didn't expect this reaction. Losing her cool and swinging her blade wildly in reckless abandon could be expected from Lightning but a meek and strangely vulnerable Lightning was something he definitely didn't see coming.

"Sorry?" He had to double check this. Or maybe clean out his ears.

"Anything alright! Just name your price." Lightning swore Caius was making her repeat herself on purpose.

"Anything…?"

_Could this be real?_

Caius quickly recovered and grinned. Anything… what could he ask for?

Letting her gunblade go he cupped her chin instead, admiring her flawless face before slowly leaning in. Her fine hair was tousled lightly by the light sea breeze.

"Anything, eh?" He breathed. Lightning's cheeks began to burn as she noticed the rapidly closing gap between them.

It was Lightning's turn to be shocked. Here was Caius, her rival and extremely annoying partner, leaning in closer… and closer. Normally she would have punched whoever dared to try this in the gut by now and maybe where it counts too just for that little extra bit of satisfaction but for some reason she was frozen on the spot. Her limbs refused to move no matter how hard she tried to tell them to. Why was her heart beating so fast? Was it always so hot here? Why couldn't she move? She should at least be able to retaliate against this man. The man who she hated for bringing up emotions that she didn't understand, emotions that were bizarrely appearing now.

She could feel his hot breath on her lips, tingling the delicate skin as he got closer. Lightning couldn't do anything but watch. Countless emotions went through her brain, confusion, outrage… anticipation? Was he going to kiss her? How exactly did he perceive 'anything'.

They were almost touching when his warm breath unexpectedly disappeared, leaving her lips painfully cold. Instead she heard soft words being whispered into her ear. As she listened she was trying to decide whether she was either crestfallen or relieved at his sudden change in direction.

"If that's the case then go out with me for dinner. Let us say, in a week?" Caius was surprised he got this far. He had expected a sword through his gullet by now or at least a shove but here was Lightning standing limply. It was like she didn't know what to do.

Still cupping her chin, Caius moved away and looked at Lightning, waiting expectantly for her answer.

Having no other choice and still trying to control her malfunctioning body Lightning mumbled out a weak conformation.

That was the last straw for Caius. There was obviously something wrong with Lightning. Lightning couldn't be like this.

"Are you alright? You sure you're not sick or something?" asked Caius, his voice touched with concern.

Her face changed instantly, turning into a heated glare. There was another emotion that Caius brought up that she did understand, anger. Anger at being treated like a dainty flower that was ready to topple over from a light breeze.

"I'm not sick." She shot back, swatting Caius's hand away.

"That's a relief. It's disturbing to see you act like a meek kitten." Caius was happy to see the Lightning he knew, the kind who would try and beat him into a pulp if he looked at her wrongly.

Lightning was just about to fire back another retort about how she would not tolerate being compared to a kitten when a thought occurred to her.

Lightning looked at Caius with softer eyes when she realized he had actually been concerned about her. For some reason it made her all giddy inside. Was she happy?

"So we have a deal right? Dinner in about a week?" Caius was not going to let this opportunity pass him.

Lightning's happy mood evaporated, he knew exactly how to ruin a moment. All the points Caius had racked up with her were flung aside at the reminder of the deal. Actually to her it was more like blackmail. But what other choice was there?

"Fine, I'll be there." She muttered darkly.

_She is so not happy about this._

"Alright, then I'll see you later." Caius started to walk off when Lightning grabbed his arm.

"What about your side of the deal?"

Caius threw a smirk over his shoulder, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get breakfast at the Base because, like the idiot I am, I forgot to stock my fridge."

"Why don't you have breakfast with us?" A third voice said.

Lightning and Caius turned around to see Serah standing behind them. Lightning hastily released Caius's arm when she caught Serah eying the contact between them.

"Breakfast?" Caius grinned at the offer, "If you insist."

_This just keeps getting better and better._

* * *

><p>As Serah directed Caius into the house Lightning shot Serah a glare that obviously meant '<em>What the hell are you doing?'<em>

Serah shrugged, "You did say we could invite him over for breakfast."

"Yes, but that was before I knew it was _him_." Lightning motioned at Caius's back as he walked in through the front door.

"That's exactly what I don't get. What is he to you?"

Lightning looked at her sister incredulously for a few seconds before remembering that she had stubbornly refused to tell her about Caius. There wasn't a point keeping it from Serah any longer, "He's my new partner."

"Ahh, that explains a lot. So he's the reason why you came home yesterday looking like a blushing bride. And from what I just saw I can be pretty sure that he's the same guy. There aren't many people who can make you blush like that. Actually, thinking about it, he's the only guy I've seen make you blush."

"I-I was not blushing." Lightning stammered out, adamantly refusing to believe that she could be so weak and _girly_ in front of Caius.

"No matter what you think, you are a girl Claire." Serah shook her head in disbelief, "Either way I think he suits you well. Plus he's pretty cute."

"He does _not _suit me well." Lightning blatantly objected, folding her arms in an ill-humoured manner.

"But he's cute, you've got to admit that?" Serah gave Lightning a confident grin, she already knew her answer.

There was a pregnant pause before Lightning answered, "I guess…" she admitted reluctantly.

"There, at least you've admitted it." Serah nodded satisfied manner, it was like she had just accomplished an impossible feat.

"Wait! He might look cute but it's not like I like him or anything." Lightning protested, waving her arms in front of her like a madwomen.

Serah giggled, it wasn't often you saw Lightning act like a little girl caught with her hand in the cookie jar. And over a trivial matter like this too. "Trust me Lightning, you may outshine me in almost everything but you can't beat me in the matchmaking department."

Lightning's jaw hit the ground, "Matchmaking?"

"Yup, you two are perfect for each other." Serah clasped her face as she made a blissful expression, "My big sister is finally acting like the innocent girl she is at heart."

Lightning face now clearly read '_You have got to be kidding me.'_

Aside from the fact that her sister was trying to play Cupid she just couldn't admit that Caius was a potential romantic interest.

Lightning raised her hands defensively, "No, definitely not."

"Denial is the first stage of love. Plus you look like you get along pretty well."

_Get along? If that means trying our hardest to drive each other insane then sure, we're getting along _perfectly… _Did I just make a joke? Caius must really be pushing me to my mental limits if I'm making jokes now. _

"But that's enough of that. Can't keep the guest waiting now can we?" Serah place her small hands on Lightning's back and tried to push her towards the door, experiencing some difficulty when she remembered just how strong Lightning was.

"Ergh, why do you have to be so hard to move?" Serah sighed as she slumped against Lightning.

"So… I'm fat as well now?" Lightning gave her sister an amused smile.

"Maybe you are. Just go in already." Serah pointed at the door.

Lightning obliged and walked in to see Caius resting comfortably on one of the stools, a little too comfortably.

"Quite a nice place you've got here." Caius gave the room another sweep with his eyes. "Would you mind helping me decorate my place? It's looking kind of bland right now."

_No._

"Yes! I'll be glad to help." Serah, who had entered behind Lightning, jumped in excitement. "Lightning you should help too."

"What? Me?" Lightning questioned in surprise.

"You should spend more time with your new partner." Serah beamed, the matchmaker was at work.

"It's alright Serah, we'll spend more than enough time in each other's company and a little extra too." Caius caught Lightning's eye. "Don't forget, in a week."

Gritting her teeth she ignored Serah's curious question on what Caius meant.

_Now he's just rubbing it in my face. You will pay for this._

"Anyways, is this breakfast?" Caius lifted the plate that held a still steaming omelet.

Serah, while not knowing exactly what was wrong with the dish, knew that it wasn't quite safe. As a result she opened her mouth to issue a warning about the possible health hazard that it may present. "You shouldn't touc-"

Lightning cut her off, "Yup, that's breakfast. Enjoy."

Caius gave the two siblings suspicious glances. Something was wrong here.

"Don't mind Serah, she's just kind of self-conscious with her cooking." Lightning patted Serah's pink head.

_And with good reason. _

Lightning gave Caius a sweet fake smile that definitely put him on edge.

"Right…" He drew out before inspecting the omelet. It looked perfectly fine, at least that's what he thought.

Cutting a piece off he slowly placed it in his mouth. It was too late for second thoughts. Chewing slowly everything appeared fine for a few seconds before his eye's widened.

"Bathroom's the first door to the left down the corridor." In a split second Caius followed Lightning's directions to the letter.

Serah let out a sigh, "That's another person I've put off my cooking for life."

"I thought your cooking was great, for that situation at least." Lightning listened to the sound of rapidly flowing water coming from the bathroom.

"What actually was wrong with the omelets?" Serah wanted to know exactly what made her omelets into weapons of mass destruction.

Lightning moved to the counter and sat on the stool Caius had previously occupied, "You put little capsicums in the omelets right?"

Serah moved to the stool next to Lightning and nodded, remembering all the little red things she had dumped in.

"Well, we don't have capsicums. On the other hand we do have a jar of very hot chillies that I'm betting is about empty now."

The gravity of her error was beginning to dawn upon her as Serah bowed her head in shame.

"I feel sorry for Caius." She muttered as they heard Caius cough a few times.

"Well I don't. He deserves it." Lightning dumped the leftover omelets into the bin.

"You planned it didn't you?" Serah accused Lighting with a pointed glare.

Lightning gave a sly smile in confirmation as more sputtering came from the corridor.

_Vengeance is sweet. _


	6. Nora

**Ummmmm... Hi?**

***Hail of rocks and screams of anger***

**I'm sorry!**

**I know I've been gone a long time and I really don't know what happened. Just kinda... lost track of the story. Blame it on frustrating writer's block? Or the holidays where I got lazy? I don't really know anymore nor can I remember. I just know that I felt like starting up this story again. **

**I realise that some of you have been waiting a long time for this update and I'm just going to say I'm sorry it took so long. Hopefully I'll be around for longer this time but... no promises. :3**

**I'll be frank. I don't know how long my updates are going to be cause I'm a pretty slow writer and I really only write really late at night due to other duties. Late being 12~1am ^-^ **

**None the less, I'll do my best. My writing skills are probably rusty and need some polishing but I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Cheers XD**

* * *

><p><strong>Nora<strong>

"Again."

"Again?"

"Again."

Caius let out a loud sigh. One day Lightning's stubbornness would kill him, "And that makes it how many times now?"

"Does it matter?" Lightning brought her gunblade up deftly, its cold steel glinting under the light of the training room, "Again."

"Yes, it does matter. It matters because then we know how many times we ended up with a bloody draw." Caius lifted his pair of black blades into position.

Tensing, like a tiger preparing to pounce, Lightning calmly said, "Then let this round decide," before instantly springing into action.

"You said that last time," Caius muttered under his breath before defending himself.

A slightly smaller amount of people watched from behind the reinforced window than their first debut spar a little over a week ago. They were still very much the hot topic of the Corp though. Some members dubbed them the "Aces of the Corp" while others simply called them "The Pair That You Don't Want to Piss off If You Value Your Life". Either one works.

Just because he was Lightning's partner everyone instantly assumed that he was a fire breathing dragon that would chomp their heads off as soon as they got close. Only the people he truly knew actually realised that he was quite a nice guy… most of the time.

Actually, ironically, the person that he was supposed to know the best thought of him as the worst guy in the history of mankind. Just how much this person hated him you ask? Well at that very moment she was swinging a blade at his head right now with what looked like the sole intention of decapitating him.

Ducking, Caius thought about how routine his life had become so far. Wake up to a shockingly cold morning, walk over to the Farron residence and hope that breakfast was edible that day (courtesy of Serah's cooking), drive to the Corp, exhaust himself trying to fend off Lightning, have lunch, exhaust himself even more at Lightning's persistency, have dinner at Lightning's place (the quality again depending on Serah) and lose himself in sleep that was blissful except for the occasional nightmare only to repeat the same schedule the next day.

That pretty much summed up his life for the past week. No assigned missions or duties just yet as the high-uppers were still organising things. Right now he was actually hoping that they got a move on and gave him something to do. He was bored out of his mind here. The only thing he really did in his boredom was think about a way to get Lightning back on her spicy omelette prank. Blank slate there, maybe he should ask the troublesome duo for some advice. There were the experts in this subject anyways.

But there was no more time for his mind to wander off as Lightning, with a look of intense concentration, thrust her gunblade at his neck. Bringing his right blade up he deflected the blow with a backhanded grip before pushing her arm away, leaving him slightly off balance.

Lightning reacted quickly and spun while bringing her blade around from the other direction, taking advantage of his weakness. Caius reacted just as quickly, using that small opening when Lightning spun to stage a counter attack of his own.

What they end up with was two razor sharp blades pointed at each of their throats, their arms crossing over each other between them.

Caius looked into Lightning's eyes as he breathed in slowly, feeling the blade lightly touch his skin briefly. They gazed at each other for a while lost in their own little standoff.

Caius was the first one to break it as he glanced at the blades hovering near each of their necks, "Draw?"

"Draw." Lightning blandly replied, pulling her blade away as she tried to hide the annoyance stemmed from failing to defeat him yet again.

Pulling his own set of deadly blades away, Caius rubbed his neck trying to rid himself of the little knots that had formed during their stare off. "Well, now that we're done we ca-"

"Again."

Caius choked out a small laugh of disbelief, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure if I heard you correctly, care to repeat yourself?"

"I said again." Lightning said impatiently, raising her blade once again.

_Unbelievable. Persistent woman._

Groaning Caius copied his relentless opponent, an evil slave driver. He couldn't risk walking out lest he ended up with a gunblade between his shoulder blades or a bullet through the back of his head. But Lightning wouldn't do that right? Nah… maybe?

_She does hate me. That is a motive. Plus I don't think she's forgotten about our little 'date' just yet. In fact, it's tomorrow._

Caius had no idea what Lightning felt about the deal as she had avoided that topic completely. Not that they talked much about other topics either. In return, he hadn't told a single soul about Lightning's secret name.

_Pity, Claire is such a nice name. _

Giving in Caius flipped his right blade into a backhand position, "If you're so eager to fight then I guess I have no choice."

_If only you knew how badly I want to stop now. This is seriously getting old. How many matches are you aiming for? 100?_

"Try me." Lightning taunted before they promptly leapt into action, charging each other like mad bulls.

…Again

* * *

><p>Standing safely behind one of the windows of the training room Lucy watched as Caius and Lightning battled it out like there was no tomorrow. They had been going at it for the better part of the morning. As sharpened steel sliced the air between the two into ribbons the elevator opened, letting Steven out into the room.<p>

"And here I was thinking where those two were, but then again, where else would they be." Walking up and wrapping his arms around Lucy's figure, he whispered into her hair. "Are they still going at it?"

Lucy let out a chuckle "Think about what you know about Lightning and ask again."

"I'll take that as a yes." Resting his chin on top of Lucy's head he watched as the pair broke apart panting. They had just come out of a deadlock and Steven assumed it was another draw. "How many rounds is that now?"

Leaning back into Steven's broad chest she mumbled out, "I kinda lost count after 15… or was it 20. I'm sure that speaks for itself. And that's just today." With a flurry of pink and purple the two were at it again, with an extra grumble from Caius though.

"You can add another round to the tally now." Lucy added on, tapping the strong arms around her.

"Is Caius tired? He doesn't look keen to continue." Steven observed as their gunblades created a raging storm of metal.

Lucy scoffed, "Tired? More like bored. Lightning's as determined as ever though." Her scoff was followed up by a sigh, "I wish I could move like that."

"With your ability as a crack shot you'll never need to bother as they'll never get close," breathed Steven into her ear.

Flushing a slight shade of pink at the complement Lucy hid a smile.

"Thank you" a happy Lucy said before twisting around and placing a quick peck on Steven's lips.

"Woah woah, didn't anyone tell you guys to keep the romance out of the workplace?" Rand interrupted rudely as he approached them, sweating from his recent bout at the gym.

"Hear, hear," agreed Rand's faithful companion in mischief, Sky, as he followed closely behind.

Lucy spared her other favourite duo a glance, "What, jealous?"

"Of a fat old guy like him? Hardly." Rand jeered in a light hearted manner.

"This 'fat old guy' turns out to be your ranking officer so you might want to watch what you say around him." Steven smiled at their barbless insults.

"Sir, yes sir." Sky said sarcastically as he fired off a slack salute.

"Alright, now that you're here. Get in there and tell those two to stop. I've got to tell them something." Steven gestured at the door that lead into a room that held two considerably fearsome soldiers. One having known anger issues.

The two stared for a little while before they burst out laughing.

"You're joking right? I actually thought you were serious for a sec-" Rand caught the look on Steven's face, "You're serious."

They paled instantly.

"Why can't you go? Or Lucy? You might actually stand a chance of surviving." Sky complained, looking for excuses.

"You two are the lowest ranking members of this unit so the trivial duties reside with you." Lucy informed then before giggling at the looks of horror that adorned each of their faces.

"Stop exaggerating, we don't have all day." Steven ordered firmly.

Bowing their heads they walked slowly to the door like men approaching the hangman's noose.

"Rand, it was nice knowing you buddy." Sky patted his friend's shoulder.

"Likewise." And with that they slowly opened the door while Steven and Lucy looked on.

Shaking his head Steven muttered into Lucy's ear, "They exaggerate things way too often."

"And that's the reason why you love them. Don't deny it." Breaking out of his embrace Lucy moved closer to the window to get a better view on the spectacle that was to come.

"You know me inside out Lucy." Steven agreed with a smile as he moved next to his second in command.

At that moment Rand and Sky had opened the door fully and cautiously moved inside. "U-uh, Lightning, Caius, Steven wants to talk to you about someth-"

Breaking away from Caius, Lightning smoothly changed her blade into a gun and fired a round, leaving a smoking hole right next to Rand's head.

"Don't interrupt."

"Yes, ma'am" The two males shouted out before rushing out hurriedly slamming the door behind them.

Caius looked at Lightning strangely, "Was that really necessary?"

"Necessary? More like essential, better to have them jump at my command right?" Changing her gunblade back into its sleek sharp blade she brandished it once again, "Now where were we?"

Smirking Caius joined his two blades, "Back to business eh?"

Meanwhile Rand and Sky were leaning on the walls blessing all things holy that they were still alive.

"Don't you ever make us do that again." Sky whined as he sent heated glares at Steven who was laughing alongside Lucy.

"Did you see your faces? You guys were pathetic. Let me show you how it's done." Steven strolled to the open door and yelled out.

"Lightning, Caius, Amodar wants to see you guys now! So I suggest you get a move on-" He faltered at the glare Lightning was giving him and gulped when she changed her Sabre into a gun. Letting out a sigh of defeat he reluctantly added on, "Please?" before retreating from the line of fire.

It was the trouble making duo's turn for a little payback as they snickered.

"You showed us how it's done alright," howled Rand.

"Please?" imitated Sky with a starry eyed look, mocking his 'superior' officer.

"At least I didn't rush out like my pants were on fire." Steven smirked.

Rand waved his hand in denial. "Please, we're real men."

Sky nodded, "We're not scared off a little girl like Lightn-"

"What was that?" a voice growled from behind them.

"Nothing ma'am." The two instantly replied in unison at the appearance of the 'little girl'.

"Good, keep it that way." Lightning ordered before brushing past them.

"What was it that you wanted to see us about Steven?" Caius asked as he followed behind Lightning wiping himself with a towel.

Leaning against the window Lightning added, "It better be important as you've rudely interrupted our spar."

"C'mon, you've been going at it for around a week already. You're not going to come out of this deadlock any time soon." Steven commented absentmindedly before catching Lightning's glare. "You know what, forget what I said. Lightning, you're definitely going to win."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Caius joked as he checked his gunblade before sheathing it.

"No problem. Anyways, you guys have got your first assignment in a while. Lieutenant Amodar wants to see you at his office ASAP. Alright?"

"Now?" Caius brightened up, happy to finally have something to do.

"Well what do you think ASAP means?" Steven waved his hand at the elevator. "You might want to get going."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." Caius started off towards the elevator before turning around. "You coming Lightning?"

"Don't order me around" Lightning growled as she pushed off the window and moved past Caius.

As Caius followed after the aggressive soldier the rest of the Unit silently wished him good luck…

Then they made bets on how much longer he would last.

* * *

><p>"So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing here?" asked Caius as fondled the handle bar of the velocycle he was leaning against.<p>

Lightning's sharp eyes swept over the sandy beach as she answered, "We're waiting for NORA to show. Don't ask again."

The beach was empty except for the large dog like monsters wandering aimlessly along the shoreline. Their seemingly dumb movements were actually a mask for their viciousness when they caught sight of their prey. In this remote part of Bodhum a few unwary travellers had fallen victim to these beasts.

"So, should we clear out the monsters while we're here?" Caius ran his finger over his gunblade as he pushed off his velocycle, letting it sway slightly in the light breeze.

Lightning was also using her red velocycle and was parked next to Caius. They had the choice of using one of the Corp's patrol cars but it didn't really make much of a choice when compared to their metal steeds.

"You'll just alert NORA to the fact that we're here." Lightning chided as she adjusted the earpiece with her hand. Caius wore a similar earpiece.

"And two people in the Corp's uniform in a remote part of Bodhum who are clearly waiting for something won't alert them?" countered Caius. Drawing his gunblade Caius threw a glance over his shoulders as he walked towards the monsters. "Are you going to leave me to deal with them myself or are you coming?"

Glaring at her annoying partner for a few seconds, Lightning dismounted and drew her blade.

_I thought I told you not to order me around._

Their mission was to investigate the unknown group known as NORA. Nothing was really known about them besides that they were newly formed and were focused around monster clearing which was normally the Corp's job. Without proper intelligence, Amodar decided to send in his most combat worthy pair in case the group proved troublesome. The fact that the pair chosen was none other than Lightning and Caius is the reason why they were hacking away at gruesome monsters right now.

Contrary to Lightning's previous urge to be subtle, claps of thunder sang out their melody of death as Lightning and Caius switched their gunblade between its two forms. One by one the monsters fell under the onslaught of deadly steel and bullets. Large jaws snapped futilely, trying to latch onto one of the soldiers but alas, their swiftness and agility proved to be too much for mere beasts.

The sound of large boots crushing the sand beneath them alerted the soldiers to the fact that they were no longer alone. Tensing, they twisted around, ready for a confrontation only to be surprised when they were met with a smiling face.

"Well, fancy meeting you guys here." The giant man they knew as Snow boomed out.

Behind him was his faithful friend Gadot who was still in his revealing shirt. Next to him was the hostess they had seen at the bar during that night out. The guys who had worked at the bar were with them as well. However the most striking feature about them was that each of them carried a firearm. Not something an ordinary citizen would carry around.

Lightning's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the man she had lost her temper a few nights ago. She quickly slashed the air with her gunblade, letting the blood that had coated her blade fall to the ground while she looked over the odd group. Some of them weren't even out of school yet.

"I take it you guys are NORA" Lightning asked, keeping her gunblade by her side just in case it needed to see action.

Everyone expected a simple and straightforward reply but then again, it was Snow. They say action defines a man. In this case, they were dumb actions.

"I see that you were so moved by my actions that night that you've come to seek me and my group out." Snow replied with a big smirk.

Lightning gritted her teeth in frustration.

_I wouldn't mind planting a bullet in his head now and tell Amodar that they were hostile. _

Caius on the other hand had a different train of thought as he was watching Lightning with an amused expression. However he felt the necessity and duty as Lightning's partner to stop this before Lightning truly lost control.

"Snow, you're poking the tiger's den and I'm pretty sure you don't want to wake them up." Caius glanced at the burly man.

"Yeah, well I'll take those tigers on." Snow boasted, the grin still planted on his face. Caius mentally face palmed. Snow was not helping.

Lightning was just about to burst when Lebreau cuffed Snow on the side of his head. An impressive feat if you take into account his height. Caius summed it up to practice.

"Are you trying to pick a fight you oaf." As Snow rubbed his head Lebreau turned towards them. "We're NORA, what do you want with us?"

"Seems pointless to ask now but, are you guys hostile?" Caius asked, looking over a bunch that seemed as far away from hostile as possible. The only person that seemed hostile right now was the girl standing next to him.

Pounding his fist together Snow answered, "Depends, do you want us to be?" That earned him another blow from Lebreau.

"Far from it, just ignore this brute here. We were formed for the purpose of clearing out monsters. Something that I see you've already seen to."

"We were bored" said Caius. Lightning was still glaring at Snow. It seemed Lebreau and Caius were the only sensible participants of this conversation.

"Speaking of boring, I'm going to look for something to do." Yawned the boy with goggles before wandering off, the blue haired guy following behind him. Gadot glanced between the two groups before trailing behind the other two.

Rubbing his head again Snow mumbled, "I guess Lebreau's decided that we're not hostile. Is that all you need from us?"

"Well, you've probably going to need to report to our superiors but that should just be about it." Caius wiped his gunblade off with a cloth he kept with him and sheathed it, signalling the end to the hostilities.

In spite of this, Snow seemed to feel otherwise.

"That's too bad, I wanted to see what kind of fight you guys would put up. But if you guys don't want to, that's fine with me. Never thought the Corp were wusses."

"Ok, that's it!" Lightning growled as she levelled her gunblade at the irritating man in a stupid bandana. "Let's go a few rounds and see who comes up on top."

"I'm not going to lose. It would damage my reputation." Cracking his knuckles, Snow grinned excitedly.

Shocked by the suddenly change in the atmosphere Lebreau finally manage to regain her senses and fruitlessly try to rectify the situation. "Snow you dumb oaf, apologize now before-"

"Don't worry about it. They both look like they could let out some steam." Caius cut in.

"Alrighty, even he agrees." Snow said in triumph.

Caius grinned cockily, "Lightning needs a good punching bag."

Glancing out of the corner of her eye Lightning scoffed over his statement.

_Was that a pathetic attempt at flattery?_

Pathetic as it was, a little complement couldn't hurt once in a while. Shaking her head to focus her mind, she brushed his comment aside. "Hold this." Lightning told Caius as she removed her earpiece and gave it to Caius.

"We'll see who wins. She'll be begging for mercy after I'm done with her." Snow dropped his coat on the ground revealing toned and massive muscles.

"You'll be the one begging after I crush you into the ground." Lightning stabbed her gunblade into the soft sand with a crunch and moved into a fighting position.

Lightning with a gunblade was the perfect image of a warrior goddess but, as Caius knew, the gunblade only helped to accentuate her deadliness and she was still a force to be reckoned with even without one.

The other members of NORA were gradually drawn in out of interest and when they understood what was about to transpire they added in a few 'encouragements' of their own.

Examples are:

"Girl's gonna win!" The guy in goggles screamed.

"Are you sure you're up for it!?" The guy in blue yelled.

And from Snow's best friend, Gadot, came the most encouraging show of support. "You're gonna get your butt whooped by a lady!"

Snow sent his 'supporters' a dark glare before focusing on what was important, the pink haired soldier in front of him.

"Shall we get down to business?" Snow taunted with a gesture to Lightning, "Countdown?"

Lebreau gave a sigh and walked forward. "Ready?"

Lightning and Snow gave a short nod.

"3!"

Caius moved to get a better view.

"2!"

The more reckless part of Nora broke out into grins of expectation.

"1!"

Lightning and Snow tensed up.

"Figh-"

Lebreau's final signal was broken by a loud rumbling sound. It was the sound that carried through the air alerting all that heard it that something was wrong. The sound of an explosion.

Everyone's heads instantly turned towards the small greyish cloud that was coming from a remote area on the edge of the city.

"What in the name of Etro?" Snow mumbled.

As they observed the cloud in confusion for a few minutes Caius's earpiece crackled into life. From it came the familiar voice of their Unit leader, Steven.

"Caius, Lightning, you there?"

"Yea, we're here." Caius replied as he threw Lightning's earpiece back to her. "Care to explain that growing grey cloud?"

"Actually, we were hoping you could. You and Lightning are the closest to it. We're sending another Unit in but we're sending you in first as scouts. Get there, pronto."

Lightning glanced at Caius and he nodded back, understanding the message. Throwing the gunblade back to its rightful owner who sheathed it behind her, Caius moved towards the velocycles with Lightning following.

Snow took note of his opponent's leave. "Hey! Where are you going? We have a fight!"

Lightning glanced over her shoulder and held up her left hand. "We'll settle this another time. This fist is for you."

Caius looked at Lightning and whispered with a grin, "I thought that was reserved for me?"

_Don't think I've forgotten about you just yet._

Lightning glared back and held up her right hand. "Don't worry, this one is."

Caius gave a small chuckle as he and Lightning mounted their velocycles and sped towards the cloud, leaving their own cloud of sand behind them.

Snow just watched the two speed off with a dumbfounded look which turned into one of disappointment. "I really wanted to fight her."

"You really don't know who she is do you?"

Snow turned around to regard the boy in goggles. "What do you mean? She's just a soldier from the Guardian Corp isn't she?"

Yuj suppressed a laugh as he corrected Snow, "Just a soldier? Just? Her sister goes to my school and the reason why no guy wants to go near Serah is because of the soldier you just met. She's THE Lightning Farron, the star of the Corp. The Valkyrie."

"Huh, really?" Snow asked back with a sheepish grin.

"Yup," Gadot punched Snow's shoulder, "So take no offense when we really meant you were going to get your ass whooped."

Snow turned his eyes to the velocycles that were rapidly disappearing from sight.

He blinked a few times in disbelief.

"Ha."


	7. Nova

**Hey there guys!**

**I finally got around to posting this chapter and hopefully it was the one you guys were waiting for. I know that some of you were frustrated at the ending of the last one as you really wanted a punch up. To solve that, this chapter will have the action to fulfill your action loving hearts. :D**

**Anyways, thanks to all the reviewers and the positive feedback I got. However, don't be afraid to criticise if you have any problems with the story. I find it interesting to see what people like and what people don't like. **

**From here on the main story will probably be kicking off and hopefully it will play out well. Hopefully~**

**Until then, read, review and enjoy ^-^**

* * *

><p><strong>Nova<strong>

20 minutes ago

A shrill screech pierced the warehouse as the large rusty warehouse doors were prised open. Light flooded in from the small crack along with the multitude of windows. A few of them were intact while the rest bore ugly jagged fragments of glass. The light illuminated the abandoned warehouse enough to reveal the mess of crates and junk lying randomly on the concrete floor. Silence reigned for a few more seconds before it was broken by the footsteps of a man clothed in black battle gear emerging from the crack, the barrel of his rifle up and ready. Scanning the room with a few sweeps of his rifle he brought his hand up and gestured for his teammates to move forward. Following his silent command the remaining members of his team filed into the empty warehouse. Each of them had a black arm band around their right arm with a white outline of a rising sun and wore a helmet which completely shielded their face from sight, only allowing vision through the tinted face shield.

"Move to the back." The leader ordered, "The report tells us that the bunker is hidden under a few crates at the rear of the warehouse."

His men nodded and headed out together as a unit, their boots crushing the junk that littered the floor as they moved. They easily made their way to the back without any resistance to stop in front of a few crates. At the first glance the crates looked exactly like its fellow companions who were scattered around the area, cracked and old and bearing a faded symbol. But what made them stand out was the way they were positioned. Arranged in a triangular shape with a line through it, the crates were a little too orderly compared to the chaotic mess that was the rest of the warehouse.

The leader gestured to the crates. "Move them. It should be here if the intel proves correct."

The unit rushed to fulfil his command with a select few moving towards the crates as others stood guard. After a few minutes of brute force the crates were pushed to the side to reveal the large tarp under them imprinted with the symbol seen by the formation of the crates, a triangle with a line through it. Under it was word print out in bold black letters, 'Tri-Line'. The unit leader moved up and knelt down on the dirty ground and brushed the dust off under the symbol revealing the motto 'The Frontline of Medicine'. Grasping a handful of the tarp he quickly pulled it away, sending a cloud of dust up into the air as he did so. His men gathered around as they saw what was hidden underneath. A modern electronic door was merged with the floor, a door that looked very out of place when compared to the run down and rotting warehouse around it. It wasn't completely new though as the door showed signs of rust from disuse.

The leader glanced at the man next to him. "Open it."

Moving to do so, the soldier tested the handle with little success. "It's locked sir." He then tapped the slot under the handle. "It looks like it needs a keycard."

He nodded at another member of the squad. "Luckily we have prepared an alternative." He said as the man dropped his backpack to the ground and opened it, pulling out a few blocks of C4. "Looking at its state, it wouldn't have opened by itself anyways." He added on.

The man promptly went to work as he set the charges on the metal door. Once complete, the unit moved to a safe distance as the commander took out the detonator and whispered the most clichéd line on earth as he pressed the button. "Fire in the hole"

With a bang the doors were erased from existence. The explosion itself wouldn't have been enough to attract attention in such a desolate area of Bodhum but theu were loud enough to cause a few men to flinch. With the doors gone, there was no barrier between the unit and the bunker that lay beneath the warehouse except for a cloud of wispy smoke. This smoke quickly dispersed into the air and without a word the leader signalled the group to move while leaving two men wielding large snipers to stand guard.

As they descended into the gloomy darkness they switched on their flashlights that were mounted underneath the barrels of their rifles. Beams of light swayed around, cutting through enough of the darkness for them to make out where they were. The unit stood in a metallic hallway that matched the door, still contrasting greatly with the warehouse it was hidden in. It looked like it was in pristine condition though. It was as if it had been used just the day before aside from the amount of dust that layered the area.

The leader moved down the stairs and briskly took in the situation. "You six with me," he ordered as he pointed out the men he wanted. "The rest of you find the power generator." He handed a small key to one man. "That's the key for the generator. Find it and turn it on."

Nodding, the man with the key set down the hallway followed promptly by two others. The other six formed a circle around their commander as they moved down the opposite side of the hallway, the sound of their boots echoing eerily as they contacted the metal floor. As they gradually covered ground they passed by a few doors, some opening into small laboratories. These small rooms however weren't what they were aiming for though. They were looking for something else. They continued onwards for a while longer before the group ground to a halt as they stopped in front of a vault, the kind that had reinforced steel doors that couldn't be blown open like the secret entrance. On it was the large symbol of Tri-Line. Compared to the vault, that front door was a flimsy sheet of paper.

The commander put a hand to his ear, touching the radio imbedded in his helmet. "Have you found the generator?"

"Yes sir, we're turning it on now." Came a reply from the man.

"Good. Turn it on and stand guard."

Dropping his hand from the radio he reached into a pouch to pull out a silver keycard. Shining his light on the keycard adorned with the word Tri-Line he wondered for a brief second whether what they were looking for was still there. His thoughts were interrupted as the lights came alive, banishing the shadows from the room. As the group turned off their flashlights the commander moved towards the vault. Pushing the card into its proper slot, he stood back and watched as the large vault doors opened inwards with a groan. Suddenly the lights began to flicker again turning on and off at random intervals. It was then followed by the buzz of his radio.

"Report, what's going on." He asked.

"Shit, sir. We've got a problem. Blowing the doors and opening the vault might have caused an overload. The generator's overheating really badly." A panicked response came from over the radio. It was then accompanied with loud beeps and warning sirens.

"Can you stop it?" He yelled. "There's no point," The man's reply was barely audible over the beeps and hisses. "It was an honour to serve under you. For Ragnarok."

"What do you mean there's no point you incompetent fools. Stop it no-" He was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. The bunker shook under the force of the denotation, many times more powerful than the one they used to get in. The man closest to the hallway entrance was blown off his feet by a strong gust of air and landed with a grunt as he hit the hard ground. The lights flickered off once more before they were plunged back into the darkness. As things began to die down, the men turned on their flashlights again.

The commander put his hand to the radio once more. "Report in."

Replies were heard from the men around him before the radio buzzed. "The two of us topside are ok. The eastern wall didn't fare as well as us though. It's little more than a smoking ruin now and it's going to attract attention sir."

No response came from the men at the generator. The commander shrugged it off. They were acceptable loses and damage to his area and more importantly the vault was minimal.

He looked at the men around him, "Our fellow companions have died with honour." He placed his fist over his heart. "For Ragnarok."

The men copied and echoed him.

Nodding he pointed at the open vault. "Retrieve the goods then deposit them at the back entrance. Just the drugs, nothing else. We have people waiting there to receive it. Move it!"

His men quickly went to work as they entered the vault and came out carrying boxes baring the Tri-Line's logo. As they moved towards the exit his radio came alive.

"Sir, we've got company." The men topside informed.

"How many?"

"Just two, both on velocycles. They're quickly moving towards the northern gates outside of the warehouse. I think they're a scouting party sent by the Corp."

The commander grimaced under his helmet as he swept over the goods still left in the vault. They needed more time. "Remove your armbands so you can't be identified." He told them.

"What do you want us to do with the newcomers?" His men asked.

"Take them out."

* * *

><p><span>Present<span>

Two velocycles, one black and the other red, rolled to a stop in front of the rusty northern gates of the warehouse. The warehouse was a massive building in the middle of a yard that scattered with junk ranging from small pieces of wood to a rusty broken tank. It was little more than a junkyard. The junk wasn't what brought them here though as the two rider's gaze was drawn by the plume of smoking drifting to the air.

"Now that's one big hole." Caius joked as he surveyed the smoking ruin that used to be the eastern part of the warehouse. Without the eastern wall the warehouse looked very dangerous and unstable. Dismounting, he grabbed his blade from his velocycle and moved next to Lightning who was already analysing the gate. "So, our job is to take a look around?"

Lightning rolled her eyes before answering.

_Isn't it obvious? _

"Yes," Lightning answered before she opened the gates with a strong push. Groaning in protest, the gates swung open, unhappy to be disturbed after years of disuse. Taking a few steps into the junkyard Lightning abruptly knelt down. Caius took this time to better observe his surroundings. It wasn't very far between them and the warehouse entrance, it was just that their path was littered with many different kinds of junk. The warehouse itself was a large building with many windows and balconies, both worn down from the building's apparent age. At that moment two red lights came from different windows. Focusing on the beams he followed one to find it led to… the back of a pink head whose owner was still examining something she had found. In that split second he put two and two together and didn't hesitate as he sprang into action, tackling Lightning to the ground behind a broken down car that was now nothing more than scrap metal.

Squirming from the sudden close contact Lightning opened her mouth to protest and clenched her hand, ready to send it into Caius's most vulnerable part if needed so. Not that she really needed a reason to, she might have done it anyways. All squirming ceased though the moment she heard two high pitched gunshots and watched as two bullets passed through the area they had both occupied just a second ago. One buried itself into the ground, kicking up a spurt of dirt as it did so, while the other grazed Caius's velocycle and left a scrape.

"Are you alright" Caius asked anxiously, looking at the woman in his arms. Lightning nodded awkwardly and pushed herself out of his embrace to lean against the car, desperately trying to fight down the blush that was attempting to show itself even on the battlefield.

_He looked so serious there for a second. That isn't the cocky and annoying Caius I know._

Breathing a sigh of relief that Lightning was alright Caius moved onto his second priority only to let out a cry of dismay. "Really? Did they really have to go and bring my velocycle into this?"

_Never mind, the idiot is back. _

…

_Which one do I prefer? _

Lightning hurriedly pushed the thought out of her head and welcomed the distraction when Caius asked her a question.

"What was it you were looking at anyways? The thing that almost got you killed." He pointed at the object in her hand.

Lightning brought her hand up to show Caius the two halves of the gate's lock that had been blow apart. "I was going to say we weren't the first ones here." Lightning gestured at the snipers hidden by the car behind her. "But those two made it very obvious."

Caius smirked at her. "Amateur snipers though. Using a laser sight only gives away your position and intentions."

Lightning looked at him strangely, "Would you rather they be professionals and both of us dead?"

He just shrugged back, "I'm not the one who almost got shot and had to be saved." He replied cockily.

Lightning fumed over that but she couldn't hide from the truth.

_He _did_ save me… as much as I hate to admit it. When did I start needing help?_

With that in consideration she let him off for now. "What do we know about them?" She inquired as she unsheathed her gunblade.

"Hold on," Caius said before taking out his own gunblade and using it to cut off the side mirror of the car they were hiding behind. Grabbing the broken part he angled it so it gave him vision behind him. "One is still on the balcony and the other is moving towards us. That's all the hostiles I can see right now." Caius turned back to Lightning, "They're using snipers but I'm not sure which kind."

"X-12 Gas-powered bolt action sniper rifle. Made in Palumpolum. Has a standard capacity of 6 rounds. That means that they have 5 rounds left if they didn't reload." Lightning couldn't help but feel good at the look of surprise on Caius's face.

"Huh," Caius muttered, "How did you know?"

"It's the only sniper with that distinct high pitched firing sound. Plus I learnt about it from Lucy." She replied nonchalantly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Didn't you use to be in the Palumpolum sector? Shouldn't you know this?"

_I'm going to press every advantage I've got against you._

"Yea yea" Caius waved it off. "Alright Miss-know-it-all." At that moment their earpiece crackled to life. They both put their hands to their earpiece and listened carefully.

"Lightning, Caius, you there? Report" Steven ordered.

"We're here. Looks like an explosion alright. Love the welcoming committee too." Caius replied, laughing at his lame joke.

"Welcoming committee?" Steven inquired, confused at his use of words.

Lightning sighed as she clarified for Steven. "Two hostile snipers. They have us pinned down."

"Oh, Ok. Another Unit is coming to assist. You _should_ wait for backup but if you have to… capture if possible." Steven told them, already knowing what was going to happen.

"Yes sir, Caius out." Caius let his hand drop and gave Lightning that cocky grin she knew all too well. "We waiting for backup?"

Lightning gave him a look that answered his question.

"Of course not. Let's go" He looked at the mirror again. "Which one do you want?"

_At least he thinks like me. I swear that that's the only thing good about him. And well… maybe his looks?_

Sighing at her wandering mind Lightning held her hand out and gestured impatiently. "Let me take a look."

Caius handed the mirror over and watched as Lightning scrutinised it. Caius marvelled at how remarkably similar Lightning's expression looked like compared to a woman choosing between two pair of shoes in a mall. Only that the shoes were carrying high powered snipers with which they had no qualms about using on them. Lightning's pursed lips finally moved as she made her decision. "I'll take the one on the balcony." She answered, calm and collected. Then again, she was Lightning Farron. The battlefield _was_ her shopping mall.

Caius acknowledged her answer, still laughing over his observation. Silently of course, there was no point in riling her up too much…for now. "Then I guess I'm keeping the other guy company." He checked his gunblade for any faults, not that he expected to find any. It was just an old habit. Satisfied with his weapon of choice he tapped his Nightfire Sabre against Lightning's Blazefire. "Ready?"

Lightning's only response was to throw the mirror into the air behind them drawing attention to it as it reflected the sunlight. The mirror didn't last for long as it shattered to pieces when it was hit by a bullet that was accompanied by the familiar ringing sound. While this happened Lightning swiftly vaulted over the car and hit the ground running, Caius following her example before running in another direction.

Lightning's eyes narrowed as her face portrayed one of intense concentration. Battle mode had slipped in.

'Ping'

The high pitched sound announced another bullet passing between them, creating sparks as it nicked the top of the car which they had just been hiding behind.

_4 left_

Lightning ran lightly and never directly towards the balcony which was her goal. Using the abundance of junk around the warehouse Lightning weaved in and out of cover, never truly giving the sniper a clear shot. Elegantly lifting off the ground Lightning cleared a crate as a red dot trailed behind her, desperately trying to reach its target. Testing his luck the sniper took a chance and fired.

'Ping'

_3 left_

Needless to say, the bullet passed through thin air only to punch a hole through a crate far away from its intended target. Even as the sniper pulled back the bolt to eject the empty casing, Lightning was rapidly closing the distance between them. Starting to panic, that sniper hastily chambered another round and fired.

'Ping'

_2 left_

A bullet ricocheted off the old oil drum just moments after Lightning slid behind it, kicking up a cloud of dust as she landed. The cloud grew around the drum, hiding it and its occupant from the sniper's sight as he looked down the scope. Sweat rolled down the side of his face under his black helmet as he scanned the cloud, alert for any sign of movement. The red dot moved across the cloud, seeking its target hidden by the brown shroud. Then, without warning, Lightning emerged from the side of the dust already sprinting. The sniper jerked his arm to bring his sniper around and fired.

'Ping'

_Just 1 more_

The bullet only kicked up more dust as it hit just behind Lightning, almost grazing her boots. Now in a true state of anxiety the sniper chambered his last round, scanning the battlefield for the pinked haired soldier who had disappeared behind a half destroyed van. He was constantly moving his rifle around as he tried to pin point his fleet footed enemy, knowing all too well that she was close… a little _too_ close for comfort.

Then, as a flash of pink appeared, he snapped his sights on target trying to follow her movements. However, Lightning was dodging between cover and heading in unexpected directions making it extremely hard for the poor sniper to take a shot. Slowly, but surely, Lightning was making her way to the sniper.

_Just a little bit closer_.

The sniper bit his lip as sweat streamed down his face. He had one shot left and he had to make it count. He knew that the soldier was now in range to press the offensive and it would happen very soon. His fingers lightly touched the trigger, ready to pull at a moment's notice. It was coming, he could feel it…

_Now! _They both thought in unison as Lightning leapt from behind cover, her pink hair trailing behind her.

The sniper smoothly moved the sight to centre onto the middle of the Lightning's forehead, his finger moving to pull the trigger… but she was faster.

Gunblade up, Lightning let out a storm of lead forcing the sniper to duck behind the barrier of the balcony as he was showered in sparks. That however was all that happened as he got up and looked at Lightning standing in the open, gunblade at her side. Confusion racked the sniper's mind for a split second before he jumped at the opportunity. Snapping his sniper up and quickly aiming down his scope, the red dot moved over Lightning's chest as he growled out his victory.

"You're mine bitch!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger. Just as the supports of the balcony he was standing on snapped.

The rusted iron supports that the balcony was hanging on had finally collapsed after taking hit after hit from Lightning's gunblade. The balcony fell to the ground carrying the sniper with it. He was only about 5 metres up but he landed with a grunt as he hit the hard ground.

The miss aimed bullet buried itself into the dirt at Lightning's feet. Ignoring it, Lightning calmly moved towards the balcony while it tumbled towards the ground. Walking up to the groaning man he looked up as Lightning's shadow fell across him. Hastily reaching down to his sidearm he was about to pull it out when he felt the sting of cold steel at his neck.

Letting go he locked his eyes with Lightning's aqua ones. Her stare seemed to penetrate the black face shield he was hiding behind.

"I think we're done here."

* * *

><p>Caius vaulted over the car and dashed off towards the sniper closest to them, hearing the sound of a bullet pass between him and Lightning who had sprinted off in another direction as he did so. Focusing on his target he quickly closed the distance between them. His target hadn't even notice him approach as he bolted his sniper and aimed once more for Lightning.<p>

_Not on my watch._

Caius changed both of his blades into their gun forms and brought them up, unleashing a few rounds as he ran. The sniper jumped in surprise and ducked for cover when the metal dumpster he was hidden behind was hammered by lead. Once the hail of lead stopped the sniper smoothly turned the corner while bringing his rifle up, looking for his new opponent. Only an empty junkyard greeted him though as he scanned the area, the laser sight passing over various pieces of junk. The sniper narrowed his eyes in concentration as he waited for any sign of his opponent.

His concentration was broken and he jerked in surprise again when out of nowhere Caius leapt from behind the dumpster.

"Surprise!" Caius shouted as he brought his combined larger blade crashing down.

Defending himself with the only thing on hand the sniper brought his rifle up in a last ditched attempt to block. Caius's large blade had no problems slicing through the fragile weapon as he ripped it from the sniper's grasp and watched as it landed on the ground in two pieces. The sniper recovered quickly though as while the two halves of the gun fell he reached down to his side holster to pull out his handgun. He wasn't fast enough though as Caius spun around and landed a roundhouse kick onto his chest.

Thrown backwards the sniper slammed into a wooden crate that broke under his weight with a crack. Groaning, the sniper reached down and completed what he had set out to do, whipping out his sidearm. Bringing it up he fired messily at Caius who jumped and rolled away, leaving the bullets to make dents on the dumpster. While Caius was dodging the bullets the sniper got up with a grunt and took proper cover. Dropping the empty magazine to the ground the sniper reloaded, waiting for Caius to show himself once again as he planned his next move.

Caius did the same thing behind a large transport container, reloading both of this gunblades and quickly checking them for faults. Finding none he brought them up, ready to use at any moment and peeked around the corner, scanning the area.

_I always did love hide and seek. Mainly cause I always won._

Dashing towards the next piece of cover Caius was on alert, waiting for any hint on where his opponent was hiding. The junkyard was silent except for the occasion 'Ping' from the other sniper. That was a good thing, it meant Lightning was still alive and he was sure she didn't have any plans on dying anytime soon.

_I'm not sure that a demon can die in any case. _

Looking around again, Caius's attention zoned in on an object lying on the ground. It was an empty handgun magazine that was near another dumpster whose was paint peeling away to show the rusty iron underneath. Carefully moving up towards the suspicious area Caius changed one of his guns into a blade, just in case. Now leaning on the corner of the dumpster Caius took a deep breath and quickly turned the corner and lifted his gun up to… empty air.

_Crap._

It was then Caius knew it was a trap and sprinted away just as the space where his head once was exploded in sparks when it was hammered by bullets.

_Damn bastard is smarter than I thought._

Pinpointing the sniper who was firing from behind another broken car Caius let loose a few shots, covering his retreat. As soon as he had broken the line of sight he abruptly changed direction and moved towards the sniper, ducking in and out of cover. The sniper hadn't moved and was keeping a good watch out for Caius. Once Caius got as close as he could he swore under his breath. The sniper had taken a favourable position and it would be hard for Caius to approach without turning into Swiss cheese as there was little proper cover around the area.

_I need a distractio-_

A loud crack was heard as a balcony on the warehouse began to plummet towards the ground.

_That'll do._

The sniper, flinching at the sound, turned around to investigate. That was his mistake.

Caius acted the moment the sniper looked away, dashing towards him as his footsteps kicked up dirt behind him. Leaping off a crate into the air to get a better angle, Caius threw his blade which spun through the air towards its target. The sniper turned around a little too late and as he lifted his handgun the handle of Caius's blade smashed into his chest which was still weak from Caius's kick beforehand. Knocking the wind out of him as well as his gun, the sniper stumbled back and tripped, landing on the dusty ground. Blinking the sharp spikes of pain away the sniper desperately reached for his gun only to see a boot firmly placed on top of it. He moved his vision up to not only look down the barrel of a gun but at a smirking face as well.

"Checkmate."

Caius pressed his earpiece. "Lightning, I've captured my target. How's it coming along on your side?"

"I've got the sniper subdued near the broken balcony." Lightning's voice informed him through the earpiece.

"I'll meet you there. Thanks for the distraction by the way," Caius gestured the sniper to stand with his gun, "I'm guessing you're the cause of the broken balcony."

"Just hurry up. Backup will be on its way soo-"Lightning's transmission was interrupted by a loud gunshot. Not the same as the 'Ping' heard made by the X-12 snipers but the sound a more generic sniper made, the sound akin to that of a thunderclap.

Accompanying that sound was the red mist that came from Caius's captive as his head jerked back and the black face shield of his helmet cracking around a hole that had just appeared. The man crumpled to the floor like a lifeless doll.

_Oh shi-_

Caius wasted no time has he threw himself behind cover. This new sniper was no amateur with a laser sight. He knew what he was doing.

"Lightning, you there? I'm under fire and the captive is dead. There's another sniper around." Caius yelled into the mic. Another thunderclap sounded just as he finished. "Lightning? Lightning? Respond godamn it!" He called frantically into the earpiece as he was starting to get worried.

His concern didn't last for long though as he breathed a sigh of relief when Lightning's voice came through. "I'm alright. So is the captive, although he just managed to escape death by a hair's width."

Caius glanced at his captive who wasn't so lucky. "I think their aim is to get rid of the captives. Eliminate loose ends you might say."

"So how do we take out this new hostile?" He asked Lightning. However, he got a response from a completely different source.

"Don't you worry about that, we'll handle it. Your backup has arrived." A voice came through their mic.

_Who the hell is he?_

There were a few seconds of silence before Lightning responded.

"It's good to see you Unit 1." Lightning replied emotionlessly, her voice showing all but pleasure at this so called Unit 1's presence.

"It seems that we are in the presence of Lightning Farron. What a coincidence." The voice replied, "We have the sniper under control. Do as you will." And that was what the man left them on.

_He seems alright._

The only thing that troubled him was Lightning's response to this man's appearance. Turning his mic onto a secure channel he asked Lightning who the newcomer was.

"You don't need to know." Lightning's cold reply came through. "I'll deal with my own problems. You search your captive's body for anything that might be useful then meet me at the entrance."

"Fine" Caius muttered, not liking the way he was brushed aside.

'_Lacks the ability to trust' Eh Sky? You've got that right at least._

Mulling over this he began his search, going through a few cigarettes and sniper rounds among other worthless items. He wasn't new to the concept of death but that didn't mean he was completely comfortable with it either. He wanted to get this search done with as soon as possible.

_My first mission with Lightning has proved interesting to say the least. It would help if she loosened up a bit more. Then again, Lightning never loosens up during a mission. Out of one though…_

Then, something caught his eye. A piece of black cloth dangled from one of the man's pocket. Reaching for it he pulled it out to reveal a black armband with an outline of a rising sun.

At that moment, all thoughts about Lightning were pushed from his mind. Caius stared intently at the simple armband in his hand in a mixture of surprise and anger.

It was _them._ It was the reason why he came to Bodhum.

He gritted his teeth as he clenched the band in his hand, his nails almost drawing blood.

He then spat out a word like it was cursed. Just one word.

"Nova."


	8. One's Memories

**Heeelllo everyone!**

**I'm here to dump another chapter to the story. This one will explore the past of the main characters more and introduce a few new characters. They may be interesting or boring but that's up to you. ^-^**

**Another thing is that no one gave me feedback on the last chapter! How am I supposed to know if my action writing skills are Ok or completely suck. (Hopefully Ok) Buuut no matter. **

**Anyways, as always, thanks for reading and enjoy (again hopefully). **

* * *

><p><strong><span>One's Memories<span>**

"_So this is where you go in the mornings Caius?" A boy asked him supressing a yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes._

_Caius twisted from his comfortable seat in the soft green grass to look at the sleepy boy. "You woke up this early just to follow me Noel?"_

_Noel nodded and moved to sit next to Caius, "Always wondered where you went in the mornings. Best way to find out was to follow you."_

_Caius just shook his head and chuckled, "Did anyone tell you that you're way too attached to your older brother?" He told him as he ruffled up Noel's brown hair. Noel just laughed with him as they watched the golden sun slowly rise into the air. The light wind stirred the grass around them and messed up Caius's shoulder length hair as the light breeze blew through it. They sat there for a while just listening to the birds call and the rustle of the wind as it blew against the trees, enjoying each other's company._

_Suddenly Noel asked a question. "What do you want to do when you get older?" _

_Caius looked at this younger brother in surprise. "What I want to do..? Truthfully, I've actually always wanted to be a velocycle racer." He smiled stupidly at the thought of zipping around a circuit at the speed of light. _

_Noel groaned in jealousy, "And you were lucky to get a velocycle for your 16__th__ birthday." Crushing the grass under him Noel moved to lie on the lush land. "Mum spoils you so much."_

"_Maybe she does," Caius replied as he also moved to lie on the grass next to Noel, starring up into the blue sky. He then turned his head to look at Noel, "What do you want to be?"_

"_Isn't it obvious?" He said with a big grin, "I want to be a soldier." _

"_A soldier huh? Are you going to join the Guardian Corp.?" Caius curiously asked as he stretched out, enjoying the comfortable sea of grass._

_In all honesty, Caius had never really liked the idea of being a soldier. All you really did was fight and fighting was pointless unless you had something to protect, or aim for. _

"_Maybe, or I might join PSICOM." Noel added, pretending to shoot down enemies in the sky._

_Caius scoffed, "PSICOM only takes the best. But I wouldn't join them if I had the choice. Dad always said that they were very… let's say questionable."_

_It was then they heard the voice of their mother calling them in for breakfast over the wind. Leaping up, Noel was already eager to run home to a table layered with food. Gesturing impatiently to Caius, he urged him to hurry as there was no stopping a young boy's stomach. Then again, Caius was just as bad. _

"_C'mon! I'll race you down the hill. Let's go Caius!"_

* * *

><p>"Caius!"<p>

"Caius!"

Caius blinked at the sound of his name, broken from his stupor. He was still kneeling on the dusty ground of the junkyard with the armband gripped tightly in his hands.

"Caius… you better not be ignoring me..." A voice whispered in a tone that promised pain.

Caius looked up from the armband to see a very annoyed Lightning as she towered over him, her sleeved arm resting on her shapely hips.

"Finally, you're awake. I was wondering where you went off to only to discover you here, happily dreaming."

Caius studied Lightning who stood before him, looking spotless even after the fight they just went through. Their relationship had changed greatly from when they first met. She was slowly warming up and becoming more… explosive? Unpredictable? He wasn't exactly sure if that was progress but right now, his mind was still trying to get over what he had just found. He could tell Lightning about it but like she had said, 'I'll deal with my own problems.'

As he rose, Lightning looked at him with an expression that demanded an explanation. It was an expression that quickly changed to surprise when Caius swept by her without a single word, still holding onto the black armband. The look that adorned his face differed greatly from his normal carefree or arrogant one. It seemed like a complete change in personality with Caius being the cold and distant one. It was also a change that Lightning was confused over and didn't understand as she just watched Caius move off towards his black velocycle and drive off without a backwards glance.

_What just happened there? That… isn't the Caius I know. I might need to check on him._

As Lightning pondered about what could have changed him so much in such a short space of time, three figures approached her from behind. Their presence sent chills down her spine as she promptly whipped around coming face to face with a man wearing the Guardian Corp uniform. He was flanked by two other men who regarded Lightning with blank expressionless faces.

Lightning glared at the man in the centre that she recognized. "And what exactly do you require from me Sargent York?" She asked the young leader of Unit 1 as he ran a hand through his combed blond hair.

York's youthful face twisted into one of his trademark smiles, compressing the scar that ran down his left eye. It was the only marring feature on his handsome face. "Surely a man can have a conversation with close friends without a reason."

Lightning hid an expression of disgust as she walked away. "We're neither close nor friends."

Before she could get far though, a hand latched itself around her wrist. "It's rude to walk out on people. Shall we talk of old times?"

_I never recalled our meetings to ever be enjoyable. _

As his eyes darted towards his hand he smirked again. "Speaking of the past, this position is all too familiar isn't it Lightning?" Tightening his hand he stared at Lightning. "Do you remember I wonder?"

Her eyes narrowing on the hand circling her wrist Lightning responded as she ripped her hand out of his grasp, "I rather not." Lightning growled before she started towards her velocycle again.

"Then maybe I should force you to remember." York threatened, his voice dripping with malice as his eyes bore holes into Lightning's back. "The humiliation you forced me to endure is still fresh in my mind, as if it only happened yesterday."

Lightning stopped and her hand moved to rest on her gunblade. Turning around she focused her sharp eyes on York, her eyes betraying the flicker of anger hidden under the icy exterior.

"You threatened something dear to me that time," Her grasp tightened on her gunblade's handle. "Do you remember where it got you?"

Her tone was frightening as York's henchmen had forgone their expressionless masks in exchange for worried glances that betrayed their discomfort.

_I might rather not remember it but I sure haven't forgotten._

York glared back with clear hatred in his eyes, his façade of sly friendship gone. "Oh, I remember Lightning. These memories will not fade so easily." Breaking his gaze he turned around, his light brown half cape sweeping behind him as he walked away. "You are dismissed Corporal, we'll handle the captive."

Lightning gave York one last look of revulsion before continuing towards her velocycle.

"Scum."

"Bitch."

Those were the words they muttered under their breaths as they parted.

_One person I would happily see dead._

Lightning thought as she squeezed her gunblade before letting go, taking a deep breath of the cool air to calm herself down. Gripping the familiar handlebar of her velocycle she started it up and sped off down the dusty road, losing herself in the trill of speed… and memories.

* * *

><p><em>The low murmur of voices filled the cafeteria with life. In the midst of the crowded hall, where people enjoyed their meals and their light conversations, sat Lightning. The young pink haired beauty sat by herself in a corner with a tray in front of her. As she ate her eyes scanned the room, observing the mass of people that crowded the area. People passed her by with nervous glances, none really wanting to approach the unfriendly soldier that had built a reputation in the Corp in the period of about half a year. <em>

_It was a status that Lightning enjoyed. Some people wondered why she liked being alone and the truth was she felt more comfortable in solitude. You relied on yourself, people didn't depend on you and she felt better when there wasn't anyone to anno-_

_Lightning almost jumped in surprise when a pretty girl a few years older than her who was holding a tray of food plopped herself onto the seat opposite of Lightning. Lightning looked at the girl with a glare which was only returned by a beaming face and a pair of green eyes._

"_Hiya! Name's Lucy." She started, still smiling._

_Placing her fork back onto the tray with a clatter Lightning replied with a bland, "I don't care." _

_Lucy took a deep breath of the delicious aromas coming from her tray and moaned in satisfaction. "C'mon, don't be boring. You looked kinda lonely." Lucy pleaded as she began her meal. _

"_I prefer to be alone." Lightning told her, her tone betraying the irritation she felt. This was exactly what she was talking about. There was another thing that people brought with them though. Their conversation was already attracting attention around the cafeteria. That was something else Lightning hated, attention. Attention never got you anywhere good._

"_But being alone is so boring. Tell me your name already." Lucy asked, waving a fork in her face. _

"_No"_

"_Please?"_

"_No"_

"_Preeeettty please?"_

"_No"_

"_Preetttyy preetttyy please?"_

"_Fine!" Lightning growled, "As long as you shutup."_

_Lucy gave her an eager nod._

_Lightning gave Lucy one more suspicious look as she reluctantly answered. "Lightning."_

_Grinning at her success Lucy ignored their deal and continued talking, "Now that wasn't very hard was it?"_

"_Extremely."_

What is it with this woman?

"_Wait…" Lucy muttered as she placed her fork in her mouth, keeping it there as she mulled over something. "Lightning…" She mumbled around the fork._

_Then Lucy lit up like a firecracker on drugs as it dawned on her._

"_Lightning! You're the Lightning everyone was talking about." She pointed the fork at Lightning, just shy of touching her. "The protégée."_

"_I'm right, right?" Lightning kept a blank face as she ignored the fork while Lucy continued to stared at her. Lucy then proceeded to answer her own question. "Yea, I'm right."_

_Holding out her hand she beamed once more. "Name's Lucy Fairshore, Unit 7. Pleasure to meet you."_

Didn't you already introduce yourself?

_Lightning dismissed the hand and instead looked around only to see even more eyes directed in their direction at Lucy's outburst. Feeling uncomfortable Lightning wordlessly grabbed her tray and stood up._

"_Hey, where are you going?" A bewildered Lucy asked._

"_None of your business." Lightning muttered before she left, dumping her tray on the space provided for cleaning as she did._

_As she left she heard a low whisper from Lucy as she whispered something to herself. "She really is the ice queen."_

_Moving to the elevator, it opened to reveal a group of young men. She wouldn't have taken any notice of them if the leader of the group hadn't bumped into her._

"_Ah, excuse me miss." He apologized as he turned to look at Lightning, then looking little more when he liked what he saw. "May I offer you a drink in apology?"_

_Lightning on the other hand gave the man one glance and looked away. Ignoring him she began to move into the elevator._

_The man's expression changed though when he realised that Lightning had brushed him aside. _

_Grabbing her arm, the man pulled her back around. "Perhaps I haven't introduced myself properly. My name is Jonah York, leader of Unit 1." York said, placing himself as someone important. This was lost on Lightning though. _

Am I supposed to care?

_Lightning blinked at the man a few times with a bored expression before brushing the man's grasp off and turning back around only to find two men blocking her path. The elevator doors softly closed behind them._

"_Move" She barked at the men. Not surprisingly the men stood firm._

"_I've introduced myself. I believe it is now your turn." York said smoothly._

_Turning around once again Lightning realised what she was dealing with. Under that fake smile and smooth talk was a bully. A person who wished to mark their dominance and boost their meagre self-esteem by picking on people that stood out. _

I knew attention wasn't going to get me anywhere good.

"_No"_

_York's eyes narrowed. He wasn't used to people disobeying him. "Is that so, no matter. Lightning I assume? Your reputation precedes you."_

_Lightning remained silent. _

_Disregarding Lightning's unfriendly demeanour he continued, "I've always regard myself as someone who knows the dealings of the Corp. It was during this that I stumble upon the rumour of an incredibly strong new recruit." He paused to look at Lightning. "That would be you."_

I know.

"_Another rumour was that you had not found a Unit in the half year you have been in the Corp." York smiled slyly. "I have decided to rectify that and offer you a place in my Unit."_

What? Am I supposed to drop to the floor and kiss your shoes for offering me this?

_Lightning folded her arms, her unreadable expression still present._

"_I believe that we can use a woman of such great…" York's gaze shifted across Lightning, "…talent." _

_Lightning felt disgusted when she saw York's eyes wander over her. Talent wasn't the main reason why he wanted her in his Unit that was clear. There were hidden motives that Lightning didn't care for. _

"_I refuse."_

_York nodded, he was expecting this. "While information of matters inside the Corp is valuable, I believe that information regarding matters out of the Corp is equally valuable as well, if not more so."_

_He stepped towards Lightning, closing the gap between them as he whispered to her so that only they could hear. "How is your sister Serah faring?"_

_Lightning stiffened in shock before attempting to mask her surprise. She hadn't told anyone about Serah._

_York laughed, enjoying the crack in Lightning's stolid appearance. _

"_How..?" Lightning forced out between gritted teeth. _

_York smirked as he stepped back. "I shall now ask again. Would you be willing to join my Unit? If not, we should at least pay you and your sister a visit. Perhaps your sister will enjoy my company better than you do?"_

_Lightning's fist tightened as she heard the veiled threat behind those words. _

_As they were talking they had attracted the attention of the other occupants of the mess hall. People watch the odd pair of a lone wolf and Unit Leader engaging in a conversation with interest but their interactions was drowned out by the low murmur that filled the hall. None the less, they were beginning to draw a significant number of curious eyes. A pair of green ones watched the scene with worry when she recognized the Unit Leader._

"_This could be trouble... better get Steven." Lucy muttered to herself as she walked off in search of her own Leader. _

_York also noticed the growing attention that they seemed to be attracting. "It seems your beauty hasn't only been noted by me." He gestured at the elevator. "Shall we move to a more peaceful area to discuss… finer details." _

_One of the men placed a hand on Lightning shoulder and turned her around. They then slowly moved to the elevator when Lightning suddenly stopped, clenching her fist tighter._

He… he threatened Serah.

_York frowned when Lightning didn't move. "Please, lets not make this difficult now shall we?"_

Just give me an excuse…

_Lightning didn't move an inch. Sighing, York snapped his fingers and signalled for the man to assist in Lightning's movement. Tightening his grasp on her shoulder he gave her a rough shove. Lightning took one step forward before stopping again._

Thank you.

_The soldier grunted in irritation and moved his arm to push Lightning again. Unknowingly, it would be the last thing he did for a while. _

_It happened quickly and before anyone could react the man was lying out cold on the ground after having his face smashed against the shiny metal elevator doors. York and the remaining four men stared dumbfoundedly at the unconscious man until one of them yelled "Get her."_

_York watched on as the other four closed in around the pink haired women. The closest one lashed out with a straight punch that Lightning easily countered and followed up with a quick jab into the side of the man's face. As the man stood there dazed another man threw a wide punch that landed squarely into the dazed man's chest when Lightning ducked. Grunting at the impact, he bent over in pain only into the sole of a boot as Lightning spun and planted a kick into the soldier's vulnerable stomach. He stumbled backwards and crashed into a table, scattering food everywhere as people jumped out of the way. Rolling off the table and onto the floor with a thud the man didn't get up. Instead of recovering he lay curled up, cradling his stomach. _

_Lightning dusted her hands as she looked at the remaining soldiers. Their opponent had already taken one person down before two of them had been able to make a move. _

"_Who's next? I don't even need my gunblade."_

_Angered by Lightning's taunt and dismissing their fallen comrade in favour of blind rage, the rest of the men advanced as York still stood by. They all struck together this time, wary of the consequences of going up one at a time. Lightning didn't have any problems weaving out of their futile attempts at fighting though. Even if they were trained soldiers they paled in comparison to the ace of the Corp. Lightning was content for a while, dodging every attack they threw at her. Grunts of anger were heard when none of the men's attacks manage to connect. It didn't help that Lightning hadn't broken a sweat and kept a bored expression while evading and sidestepping. _

"_Really? This is the best you can do?"_

_Reaching their breaking point, one of the men gave a yell of frustration and swing wildly. Needless to say, the man missed by a mile and left himself open. Lightning was quick to take advantage of his as she stepped into reach and landed a solid punch into the soldier's chest. The man growled and brought a fist down, trying to land it on the back of Lightning's head. Lightning easily twisted out of harm's way but she wasn't done yet. Grabbing the man's arm she spun and threw the man behind her. He flew for a brief second before crashing into another soldier who was trying to sneak up behind Lightning. The force of the flying man slammed them both into the hard wall, one being knocked out from the impact. The other dazedly tried to stand before stumbling over his companion's limbs and falling again. _

"_At least make me try. This isn't even a workout."_

_The last standing man took one look at his defeated companions and did the exact opposite of what he should have done. Instead of running he, in his hot-headed anger, charged Lightning once more fist raised in some vain hope that it would actually be able to do something. Sighing, Lightning watched as the man charged and then landed a fast kick to the side of his head just as he entered range. Groaning at the blow, the man stopped dead in his tracks and fell to the ground as his consciousness faded away._

_The crowd that had gathered around just stared in silent amazement. They did however feel pity for York when Lightning turned her aqua eyes onto him. _

_York still had an irritating smile on though as Lightning approached. "I humbly apologize for my Unit's behaviour. It was out of line and I take full responsibility for their actions. I have no idea what came over them." York said as he gave a low bow. _

_To everyone else it seemed like an apology but Lightning knew what it was. It was simply a farce to prevent her from laying into him. He knew that after this, if Lightning attacked now, she would have been in the wrong. _

Pity, I would have enjoyed it. That doesn't mean you get to go free though.

_Curling her hands into the front of York's uniform she pulled and slammed him into the wall. York's smile faltered at the force of the impact._

_Even if she wasn't allowed to harm him he could still feel the killing intent that suffocated the air around them. The dark aura was also felt by the crowd as they began to nervously shuffle, scared to draw the attention of the pink demon. _

_Lightning leaned close to York's ear. "Listen up. You will _NEVER_ threaten my sister again. If fact, you will never mention her name again. Understand?" she growled. She then leaned back and stared into York's eyes before slamming him into the wall once more. "Understand?!" York had little choice but to nod. Releasing him, York crumpled to the floor and rubbed his neck, nursing his bruised ego that had just taken a severe hit in full view of the Corp._

_Lightning glared at him for a bit longer until a loud voice broke the silence._

"_Alright everyone, fun's over. Stand aside!" _

_Lightning turned around to see the crowd parting to allow a man through with the woman she had met before, Lucy, beside him. Taking out his cigar from his mouth he gave York an unfriendly look. "Why am I not surprised that you're in this mess Jonah."_

"_Silence, I will not have you berate me further." York snarled back as he rose using the wall as a support._

"_Say all you like. I'm not the one with my men groaning on the floor." Steven pointed at the downed men around him, his cigar making smoke trails in the air. _

_York didn't reply as he moved past them, giving Lightning a nasty look before leaving. He expected his men to follow and they did so, albeit with much pain. Those that had fallen unconscious due to Lightning's treatment received help as the York's group limped away._

_Judging by the ugly expression on York's face as he left Lightning knew that she had just made an enemy, one that she was happy to have. Scum like him could only be regarded as enemies. It was stupid to think of them as something else. _

_Steven watched York go before taking a puff of his cigar and directing his attention to Lightning. "So you're the soldier I was expecting to be half dead from the way Lucy came running in," He gave Lightning a look over her unscathed self, "And yet. You don't have a scratch on you."_

_Steven took a glance behind him at the crowd that were still lingering around. "I said the show's over. Nothing to see here!" he yelled at them. Sensing the dismissal, people began to wander away as they talked about what had just transpired. _

"_I've got to say though, I'm impressed. A whole Unit by yourself." Steven praised._

"_I'm not interested in flattery." Lightning deadpanned._

"_Just an observation." _

"_Fine." Lightning gave the pair one last look before moving but was stopped once again at Lucy's voice. _

"_Wait! Lightning!"_

_Sighing she turned around to face them "Make it quick."_

"_Well, you do know that they'll still continue to pester you. You're alone in the Corp, an odd one out." Lucy started, poking two fingers together. _

"_So? I prefer being alone." Lightning replied. _

"_Yea, but do you really want to spend the rest of your time in the Corp fighting? They're not going to leave you alone. And other Units might end up doing the same thing!" Lucy explained as Steven tried to figure out where Lucy was heading. _

_Lightning gave Lucy an impatient look. "Get to the point already."_

"_If you join a Unit they won't bother you anymore." Lucy said as she 'got to the point' at Lightning's insistence. _

"_And which Unit do you suggest I join? The Unit which just tried to pummel me?" Lightning asked._

_At this, Lucy broke into a grin. "No silly, ours of course!" She patted Steven on the shoulder. "We have enough room in our Unit."_

_For some reason you could tell Lucy was really keen on this as her emerald eyes began to sparkle. To her, things had just gone to plan. _

_Steven on the other hand did not factor this in his plans as he blinked in surprise, "Wait, Lucy. You do know I'm the leader of the Unit right?"_

_Lucy looked up at Steven. "Yea, so?"_

"_Well, that means I'm supposed to make these decisions." _

_Lucy just shrugged. "Yea, ok." She pointed at Lightning. "So ask her already then 'leader'."_

"_Fine." Steven said before letting out a deep breath. He would never hear the end of this if he didn't follow Lucy's suggestion. "So, do you wish to join our Unit at Lucy's request?" he addressed Lightning. _

_Lightning remained silent. Just a few minutes ago a similar proposition was given and that ended up with an all-out brawl._

What's going to happen this time?

"_C'mon Lightning. They won't bother you again. Steven is pretty well respected around here." Lucy pleaded. "Plus, you won't have to deal with Unit invites again. Like the one just then." _

_Lightning folded her arms while she thought over this proposition._

It would be nice… they seem normal enough. Although Lucy can be a little annoying…

"_Alright. I accept with one condition." Lightning started. _

_Steven raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"_

"_I don't need protection. I can protect myself." _

_Steven nodded as if he expected this answer, one of the few things that actually went according to his predictions today. "Granted."_

_Lucy beamed a bright smile. "Welcome to Unit 7." _

* * *

><p><em>And I had to deal with Lucy ever since that day.<em>

Lightning let a small smile show.

_What really was worse? Dealing with a fight each day or Lucy's fashion advice?_

Her life after joining Unit 7 was eventful to say the least. Partners to deal with, troublesome pranksters to punish and orders to follow but she had never been disturbed by another Unit again. Her stunt in the mess hall had some people regarding her in awe as well as fear. It was something she found that she was comfortable with though.

_But why now?_

Why had Unit 1 tried to dig up old memories? Each time they occasionally met the only thing that happened was the exchange of dirty looks. They no longer had any influence over her once she had joined Unit 7 and yet…

Unit 1 were bullies simply put. Bullies only lashed out when they had the upper hand or power. It was this that they didn't have. They didn't have the power or influence but they decided to act now? There was something going on here and Lightning didn't like it.

Caius on the other hand was another mystery. What happened there seemed so unlike him. It was something she didn't like and found a little irritating.

_What could have brought on a change like that?_

This was something Lightning was set on finding out, mainly due to the fact that she couldn't stand the fact that Caius had walked out on her. She was also adamantly denying that she was a little worried about him.

Lightning slowed down as she her drove onto her street, the familiar sound of the ocean waves helping soothe her emotions. As she rolled along the sandy road she turned into Caius's house, dismounting behind his black velocycle.

_Am I really doing this? Seeking out Caius on my own free will?_

Lightning scoffed at the thought as she found herself in front of the wooden doors. She just stood there for awhile, her eyes wandering over the timberwork. Slowly raising her hand to the door she paused.

_He better have some answers. He really better have some. _

Bringing her hand down she knocked.


End file.
